After working on H1B for two years, I decided to go back to school. I applied for admission and was issued an I-20 form, which I filed with an application to change status to F-1 (I-539 form). …

… My DSO said that I could start attending school, and I started taking classes at the beginning of the term. However, my I-539 application is still pending, two months after the start of my program. Is there any issue that my I-20 submitted to the U.S. indicates a start date that is now in the past?

Answer

The USCIS may still approve your application even though your I-20 would show a date in the past. You may want to check with your DSO to make sure that your SEVIS record has not been automatically terminated after the first 60 days from the start of your program. Your DSO should defer your admission in the SEVIS system so that your SEVIS record remains active. Your DSO may continue deferring your admission in short increments until USCIS reaches a decision on your application.

For statutes, such as B-1/B-2 and F-2, that do not allow school attendance until the USCIS approves the F-1 change of status request, the DSO should defer admission until the start of the next available semester, term, or session. (30.Jan.2015)

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