Need help/suggestion

Situation:

A friend of mine has become out of status unknowingly. He graduated in December 2003 and had applied for OPT. Since his OPT card did not come in time, he went to the local INS office for a temporary card (which has been misplaced). He has a valid SEVIS I-20 that says the OPT period is from 12/03 to 12/04. Now that the OPT has expired and that no H1-B sponsorship, he's wanting to go back to school. To do so, we went to the school he graduated from to sign a transfer release form, but his SEVIS record said that the OPT was denied. The International Student Advisor was unaware of it nor was he himself. There was no rejection letter of any sort (or may be the Int'l Student Advisor got it and threw it away or it got lost in the mail). The Int'l Student Advisor is now in the process of finding out why it was denied from the INS people.

So, if it was denied then he has been out of status for almost 6 months now. We are thinking of applying for F1 reinstatement as he became out of status with no fault of his. What are the chances of getting approved? What happens if the reinstatement is denied? Can this guy stay here when the reinstatement decision is pending? What happens to the 180 day rule that say if you overstay for more than 180 days, you are barred from entering US for the next ten years. Will that apply for him?

If you have witnessed a situation where a friend/relative had to go through the INS F1 reinstatement, could you pls share it with me. Desperately in need of help.

Thanks.

Jyapu bro

I had a fren who went thru the reinstatement process.But the case was abit different. the school where he studied had quarter system and all internationals have were needed to attend summer session too. My fren was unware about it and didn't attend the college.He was outstatus. He applied for reinstatement and joimed the college during his reinstatement. Finally after 2-3 months his reinstatement was approved.

Good Luck for ur fren

Well, i have no idea but I wish ur fren, best of luck.

I would say contact the lawyer

now a days can not tell anything.


Wish you good luck

I think you can stay till the INS makes a decision on the reinstatement status, however, a denied letter from INS comes in the form of Deportation Letter. If you have access to a lawyer, check with him 'coz he can make a good case of why the OPT denial letter from INS was never received by the student. Student Advisor usually don't give their heart and soul to keep a Nepali student from deporatation. So, please seek help with a lawyer, even if it means paying a few hundred dollars for the service.
Good luck!