DOS Changes Policy on Issuance of F-1 Visas to Persons Who Have Changed Status From B-2 to F-1
Posted Sep 4, 1998

It has long been the case that persons who come to the United States on B-2 visas and then change status to F-1 have had difficulty when they later travel outside the U.S. and apply for the F-1 visa at a consulate abroad. In many cases, consular officers have refused to issue the F-1 visa, based on a presumption that their original intent was to study, and that they therefore committed fraud by applying for a B-2 visa instead.

According to AILA, the State Department has now indicated that such a change of status, even within a short time of arrival in the U.S. will no longer be the basis for a presumption of fraud. However, all applicants for student visas (and tourist visas) are still required to prove that they have a nonimmigrant intention and do not intend to permanently settle in the United States. Consular Officers who have doubts about an applicant can still deny a visa on this basis. This is in contrast to the doctrine of dual intent recognized for example, in the case of an H1B visa holder who can enjoy the benefit of having both a nonimmigrant intention and an immigrant intention simultaneously without being considered in breach of her/his status. Although the U.S. State Department has recently changed its policy with respect to filing a change of status application from B-2 to F-1, the Law Office of Sheela Murthy cautions those who enter with the sole purpose of changing status immediately after entry into the U.S. since the doctrine of fraud itself has not been eliminated from the immigration law framework.