COS from L2 to F1, Can i continue my masters on L2 VISA incase if my husband leave US in next few months

Im on L2 visa valid till 2019 but my husband L1B visa project ending in Jun17, currently im working on L2 EAD valid till Dec 2018 and planning to do MS in my field.

  1. Can I continue to work and study on L2 even if L1 is leaving in Jun 2017? Im planning to file F1 after getting my I20 from university as they have agreed to give CPT after F1 is approved. They have accepted my application on L2 and asked me to file for F1 after I20 is approved by university.

  2. Can I continue to do masters on L2 as I will be filling F1 in May 2017 which takes 5-6 months to approve and at the same time, incase my husband leave US next 1-2 months.

Please advice and suggest.

  1. There is a guideline that families cannot be “parked” in US. So if the L-1 holder is leaving US for good in Jun 17, the expectation is that you should leave at the same time. It would better if you apply for COS before this date.

  2. As long as you have COS filed, you can continue to stay and study on L-2. If COS is denied, then you need to leave US ASAP.

Thank you for your reply. Im planning to apply COS on May 6th as I have to get 120 from my University. So here incase, if I have already applied for cos and meantime if my husband leave after a month then what can be done?

You should be fine as you have a COS pending. Like I said in previous response, in case COS is denied, you should leave US ASAP.

Thank you Saurabh, your response helped me alot. Thank you once again.

Just 2 last questions please, in what you case do you feel COS may denied? And last question is, incase if I apply my cos to f1, can I keep my daughter with me who is 2 yrs old if L1 is not in US

COS is typically denied in 2 cases:

  1. USCIS determine that you have not been maintaining prior status. So in this case, they determine that you were out of status on L-2 at the time of application
  2. USCIS determine that you will not be able to maintain the new status i.e. in your case F-1 status cannot be maintained

You can apply for daughter’s COS from L-2 to F-2 (make your dependent), so that she can stay w/ you while COS is pending. Make sure both COS are filed together so that they are processed together.

Thank you sir once again.

Sir, one clarification needed. Incase if L1 goes on vacation for 1-2 months then L2 dependent can still continue her work in US? As L1 visa will be active …I mean L1 visa will not be withdrawn by his company…