Hi all, I am doing masters in us on h4 visa. And i am now in third quarter. I have applied for COS h4 to f1(September 2020) and still waiting for update from uscis. After filing COS, i heard that h4 EAD guys have flexibility, they can do side business also along with jobs. I know h4 EAD takes a lot of time. Other than this, Please let me know what are the pros and cons for f1 and h4 ead. I am in dilemma, should I go for biometrics of f1 or should I wait for h4 ead.
Better to go F1 route, my wife is suffering with long delays of h4+ead
Do you think F1 EAD is faster than H4 EAD? I mean in both the cases I have to file I765. Does USCIS has different processing times depending on underlying Visa ?
Yes, atleast in my wife’s friends case it was faster a year back in 2020. F1 EAD was approved in less than 4months while my wife is waiting for her h4 extension from more than 8months. Also in case of OPT extension you do not need biometrics and by law you will be granted 6months of extension if it gets delayed. So in any case i suggest doing masters is better as you won’t get breaks because of extension delays
Opt
Moving to F1 is the best option! H4 and EAD extension is a nightmare
I didn’t know you could do masters without F1. Are you married to someone on H1?
Yes