Forum topics - After college then what?

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16-Aug-2000 05:01 PM

After college then what?

schillaci

hey whats up? I really admire the good work that you guys are doing. Question, after completing 4 years of college and recieved your degree on a 5 year f1 visa in philadelphia,say i want to stay in the U.S, how can i stay in status , can i get a green card,work permit,citizenship or some legal paperwork.

16-Aug-2000 05:33 PM

Re: After college then what?

Frank

What most people do is to apply for their one year of Optional Practical Training (OPT). During that year they try to find an employer within their field of study who is willing to file the paperwork on their behalf for an H-1B visa.

The H-1B visa is a work visa, and it would allow you to eventually apply for permanent residency. It only lasts a few years, initially, but can be extended up to six years total. During that time you should be able to apply for permanent residency.

There's a limit to the number of H-1B visas that are issued each year. It used to be 65,000 H-1Bs, but the cap has been raised to something around 115,000. INS starts issuing H-1B visas on October 1 of each year (the start of the government's fiscal year), and continues issuing them until they run out.

Unfortunately they've run out more quickly each year, since on October 1 there are thousands that are suddenly granted from the previous year's backlog (people who have been waiting for months to get their H-1B visa approved so they could start work).

So if you have the choice, apply your OPT now, and use a start/end date that's after October 1. (It would have to be within 60 days of your "completion date.")

That way if your application for an H-1B visa isn't considered before next year's cap is reached, at least you can continue working via OPT until the next fiscal year's granting of H-1Bs.

You happen to be asking this question at the right time of year for this particular answer. Some people aren't so fortunate in their timing, having an OPT work permit that expires in the middle of the summer with a pending H-1B application in the works. They basically just have to stop working from their OPT expiration date until Oct. 1...

22-Aug-2000 05:03 PM

Re: After college then what?

jojo

schillachi - your name is like that football guy. I once came across a site called mysky.com which had a very clear process on how to stay on in the US. I think it was written by some student who managed to not get kicked out of the country

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