Questions & Answers

How can my daughter keep her student status if her I-829 gets denied?

We got our conditional green card through EB-5 and will file our I-829 soon. My daughter will attend college in the U.S. starting this fall. If our I-829 gets denied, and I expect that could happen during her junior or senior year, will she then be able to keep her student status? What are solutions if this happens? I do not want her studies to be interrupted.

Answers

• A Olusanjo Omoniyi

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on January 2, 2019

  If the entire family I-829 is denied, your daughter's conditional status will be affected as well. Under such circumstances, you should seriously consider changing her student status to an F-1 so that she can continue her studies. However, if an appeal or motion is filed to reconsider the I-829 denial, the status of everybody can be frozen or held to be at a standstill until the final decision is made, Thus, your daughter will remain in conditional status until the final decision, Advisably, talk to your EB-5 attorney to discuss your various options before you choose any of the options.

• Bernard P Wolfsdorf

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 28, 2018

  The I-829s are taking about two years, but even if denied, you can apply again in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. In Los Angeles, that takes at least two to three years presently.

• Belma Chinchoy

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 26, 2018

  As a CPR, she is not in student status and thus will have no student status to keep. Following an I-829 denial, your family would be put into removal proceedings and you will appear before a judge. Depending on where you are located, this process could take up to a year. If the IJ ultimately finds that USCIS properly denied the I-829, and you have no other relief under the INA, then you will need to leave the country. All of this may be well after your daughter finishes her undergraduate education. Make sure you have an experienced attorney at your side.

• Lynne Feldman

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 25, 2018

  Currently your daughter is a permanent resident. If I-829 denied, then she can go home and apply for a student visa.

• BoBi Ahn

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 25, 2018

  If her I-829 is denied then she will no longer be in lawful permanent resident status. And if that is the only status under which she is in the U.S. and attending school, she would no longer be authorized for either, unless you file an appeal. If you anticipate problems with the I-829 then you should plan ahead and take actions to secure her alternate status before that event occurs.

• Salvatore Picataggio

  Immigration Attorney

  Answered on June 25, 2018

  It does not appear she actually has student status in this case, but is she using her conditional green card to attend school? Or is she using an F-1 status to attend school? If she was using her CPR, it may not be possible to change back to a non-immigrant F status. If she was using an F-1 this whole time, she can indeed continue using that. I would need to know a lot more about the case.