Entering US with valid F1 visa and H1 petition approved

[kunalrock]

Hello,

I will be graduating by mid-Nov' 09 and will be joining the company from Nov last week. My petition will be filed this week. Assuming that it will get approved by mid-Aug, I am planning to travel to my home country in Sept first week and return in Nov first week on F1 visa itself. My question is that will this be problematic at POE, since at that time I will be holding a valid F1 visa, however the system will show up that I also have a H1B petition approved? So it means I am entering with a dual purpose or something like that.

Please clarify.

Thanks in advance,
kunalrock.

[txh1b]

You should not and cannot enter on F1 if your H1b is already approved as a COS as you no longer are on F1 past Oct 1st.

[kunalrock]

But my Masters is still not complete. So won't I will be anyway on valid F1 status? Also, I suppose that H1 becomes valid only after joining the company and that will be in Nov last week.

Please confirm.

Thanks for reply to my earlier post.

~Kunal.

You should not and cannot enter on F1 if your H1b is already approved as a COS as you no longer are on F1 past Oct 1st.

[kabkaba]

If your H1 was filed as change of status. Your status changes to H1 automatically on Oct 1, if you are in the US at that time.

[txh1b]

But my Masters is still not complete. So won't I will be anyway on valid F1 status? Also, I suppose that H1 becomes valid only after joining the company and that will be in Nov last week.

Please confirm.

Thanks for reply to my earlier post.

~Kunal.

Whether your MS is complete or not, is immaterial. If your H1b was filed as a COS, you lose F1 status once it is approved from the effective date i.e Oct 1st. Your H1b should have been filed as a CP case instead. Talk to your ISO.

[kunalrock]

If your H1 was filed as change of status. Your status changes to H1 automatically on Oct 1, if you are in the US at that time.

What if I am not in US on Oct 1st? Once my H1 is approved in Aug, I will be traveling to my home country in Sept 1st week and coming back in Nov 1st week (as of now on F1 visa). What happen to my status in that case?