Hi, I am currently on H1, got my H1 in Masters Quota (Nov 2011 to Nov 2014 ). But, I heard, that according to clause: 20 U.S.C 1001(a), University needs to be either Public entity or non-profit organisation. My university is neither of them. And, couple of friends already got RFE when they applied for H1 extension.
I would like to know, if I change my status from H1 to F1 and do my Masters again in a reputed university and then, reapply for H1, will my old university create problem again or can I show the new university and be elegible for the H1 extension?
If the above is not an option, I can appreciate, if you can suggest me a viable option.
Stratford University is one of the sham universities, I am sure you know this. Did you make use of CPT form day one?
If yes, then it could be a problem.
You might know that universities like UNVA and TriValley have been shut?
Personally I know few people being deported and their H1B getting rejected ( they were from UNVA)!
I would suggest apply using your Bachelors degree and do not show stratford masters.
Talk to a good lawyer and take his opinion.
There are folks on this forum from this school, whose extension ran into issues. The RFE raised for them was to prove that original petition was correctly filed under advanced degree.
You have H-1 until Nov 2014, so you are covered till then. May be file H-1 again next year under regular quota and see if it gets approved and use that for future extension filings. Just a thought, but you should confirm this w/ an attorney as well.
Thanks for the response, SnowWinter & Saurabh!!! No, I haven’t used CPT at all, I have only used OPT and from day 1, I had job with proper payroll. Yes, I did heard about the Trivalley and UNVA recently and NO, when I joined this university, I didn’t knew that, it is a sham university. Spent lot of money and time in pursuing this and so unfortunate, that I used Master’s quota for H1, because, in 2011, even the regular quota was available until Nov, I could have easily avoided MS, all happened due to lack of knowledge and proper guidance. I know, “Not knowing is not an excuse” :(, but, I hope, I can get this mess off my back…
So, do you think, I can still apply in Bachelors for H1 extension, when, my first H1 was approved in Master’s quota?
From now on apply only using your bachelors degree. You can apply using bachelors degree.
Here is the thread:
Hope that USCIS does not challenge the first approval( Master’s Quota) saying it was illegal. Take any decision only after consulting a good immigration lawyer!
Other thing you can do is to enroll in some reputed university for Master’s degree - Again it is time consuming and expensive!