Guys, as per my lawyer - those who have violated the visa status (working without......) are not eligible to request for change of status. That means, even if someone gets selected for H-1B but have violated the visa terms, cannot file for change of status, and if you cannot file for change of status - you cannot work on that gap period.... so, what hell is this..? It looks to me that going to grad school is the best option... I am tired of these damn changes... and all kinds of tangling situations.... Has any one have this situation right now? - like , have violated visa terms and were not able to request for change of status .... or my lawyer is giving me a CRAP... because its my company's lawyer.............. whats gonna happen if I force my lawyer to request for my change of status (given that i get selected for H-1B)?????

K ho k.... dimag kharab bhaie sakyo..ghanta jasto!

<Source: www.uscis.gov>

USCIS to Allow F-1 Students Opportunity to Request Change of Status

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it would allow F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of selected H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to request a change of status in lieu of consular notification.

This short-term measure follows an April 8, 2008 interim final rule that, among other actions, automatically extends the F-1 status of qualifying students who are the beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions to cover the gap between the expiration of a student’s F-1 status and the H-1B employment start date of October 1. To obtain the automatic extension, a student must be the beneficiary of an H-1B petition filed for the next fiscal year (with an October 1 employment start date) and have requested a change of status.  For F-1 student beneficiaries of petitions that USCIS subsequently rejects, denies, or revokes, or for those who violate their status, the automatic extension terminates at that time.

Since the rule was published after the filing period had closed for new FY 2009 H-1B petitions, many petitioners of F-1 students did not include a request for a change of status with the H-1B petition. Instead, petitioners requested consular notification based on the assumption that these students would have been required to leave the United States to obtain an H-1B visa at a consular office abroad.

USCIS has determined that it will allow petitioners of F-1 students whose H-1B petitions were randomly selected to receive an H-1B visa number for FY2009 following the closure of the filing period, to now request a change of status on behalf of qualified beneficiaries, if such requests are received within 30 days of the issuance of the receipt notice.

To request a change of status in lieu of consular notification, petitioners (or authorized representatives) should send an e-mail with the request to the USCIS service center where their petition is pending within 30 days of the issuance of the receipt notice.  Special email addresses for each service center have been established specifically for this purpose.  These addresses are listed below and are posted on USCIS’ website.  Petitioners should e-mail their requests for change of status in lieu of consular notification upon receipt of the notice so the agency has the request before completing H-1B petition adjudication.  The requests should include the receipt number and both the petitioner’s and beneficiary’s name, date of birth, I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) number, and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) number.  Please do not contact the service center about requesting a change of status until after receiving the receipt notice.

E-mail addresses for requesting change of status are:

VermontService Center
Premium Processing cases:  VSCPPCAPGAP.Vscppcapgap@dhs.gov
Non-Premium cases:  VSCNONPPCAPGAP.Vscnonppcapgap@dhs.gov

CaliforniaService Center
Premium Processing cases:  CSC.ppcapgap@dhs.gov
Non-Premium cases:  CSC.nonppcapgap@dhs.gov

NOTE:  If an F-1 student, who is the beneficiary of a selected 2009 H-1B petition, has a pending request to change to a status other than H-1B but now wants to file under the process outlined above, he or she should withdraw the previously filed change in accordance with established regulations.

Wht the hell is this now ? Change of status...Khai maile the kehi pani bujhin...I've just completed my graduate studies and currently on OPT period.....don't these people have other better things to do instead of chaning existing rules. and by the way do u know the change in OPT rule...3 months employment shit.....it seems that no one is clear on this issue either.......

i didn't understand what working without ........r u talking about. if u r in opt and got H1-B i don't think you have to change the status to work.  can u make it clear for further discussion? i think we all should know this .

thanks

my understanding is if you are on OPT right now and your h1 gets approved, your status will change to h1 on october 1, i.e, if you do not stay unemployed from april 8th till september 30 for more than 90 days ( remember, this rule is a bit complicated...my understanding is, those who were already on OPT by april 8th, their 90 day rule thing starts from april 8th).

in case, you started your OPT from last May or sometimes when your original OPT is about to expire now or will expire before October 2008, in that case, you are eligible for CAP-GAP RELIEF. In that case, i am not sure what you need to apply or where you need to apply, but this is what needs to be done. you do not need to go to graduate schoo.

do one more thing, talk to internation student advisor in your school, just to make sure whatever you are reading in sajha is correct. Not saying that I am giving you BS answer, but I might have missed some part..

Has anybody(who already got h1b receipt) already filed a change of status request as per the above rule??What is the process and how we will be able to know that either out extension till oct 1st has approved or not??? and does it make any difference b'coz i had worked using ssn during my study period.....Anybody has any experience ???????? pls

If you are currently on OPT and your H1 got approved for this year and that your OPT expires before Oct 1st you are automatically covered for the gap period you don't have to do anything. it is automatic.

I don't understand what status you are talking about?