H1 to F1 transfer after 6 years

Hello All,

I had a question about moving over from H1 to F1 and its impact on priority dates and its portability. I am currently on H1 approaching my 6th year deadline. The company is in the process of applying for my i140 following which i will be eligible for 3 year extensions.

  1. First i wanted to understand when my priority date would be official. Would it be only after the i140 is approved or would it become official after the PERM is certified?

  2. The other larger question i have is with regards to the portability of this priority date. I am about to enroll for a full time MBA program in the US whereby i will switch over to F1. Now would i be able to switch back to H1 without any issues and would still have 3 years available to me? If i am able to switch back to H1 then would i be able to port over my current priority date?

Any help with this question would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

  1. Your PD is the date on which PERM application was received.

  2. Yes, you can use this current I-140 approval for filing cap-exempt petition in future. When the new job is similar to current one, then you can port the PD as well.