I am an international student at a college in the US and was taken off from second semester enrollment because of financial difficulties. This was back in Feb. I had told my immigrations officer I would be out of the country by the end of that month, but however there were some natural disasters back at home which prompted my family to suggest to me that I stay in the US until the whole thing was blown over. I'm afraid to contact USICE because I'm not sure what legal problems that would entail. I am planning to re-enroll this year in the spring.
Thank you for your inquiry. I think that you would be well served by an attorney familiar both with the applying for “reinstatement of student status” in order to return yourself to the good graces of both CIS and ICE.
The application for reinstatement is filed on a Form I-539 and is adjudicated by CIS. You will have to deal with a SEVIS mess as you work your way through this problem. Reading your inquiry, my guess is that your failure to maintain valid student status resulted in a case agent at ICE swinging by to say hello and to check on what your plans were. ICE has been much more forward about catching up to students against whom a SEVIS violation is posted. Depending on your nationality, that visit from ICE can be awful quick.
Regardless of your nationality, you appear to be physically present in the US after having failed to maintain your student status. This is in turn a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and would subject you to being placed in removal proceedings before the US Immigration Court. My guess here is that the ICE officer came by, figured out that your story checked out and decided that you would comply with the "suggestion" that you leave the US and return abroad. For whatever reason , the friendly ICE folks have not caught up with you to determine your compliance.
There is a lot on your plate and you need to get on top of the situation before it gets any worse. You may also want to seriously consider leaving the US and attempting to sort this out through the US consulate through an application for a new student visa rather than going through the mess of a request for reinstatement of student status here in the US. The natural disasters which you discuss may have an affect on the availability of a trip abroad being a viable option. But it is something that needs to be on the table.
Applying for reinstatement has its own share of problems. You need to work with the school and seek its guidance in helping you through the process and I would highly recommend that you make contact with the ICE officer to make sure that ICE is aware of your plans. No reason to hide from anything. Rather, be up front and your honestly will hopefully not go unnoticed.
Reinstatement requests are always messy and a denial can result in a determination made that you have indeed violated your status and this can start the accrual of time against the "unlawful presence" clock. Assuming that you merely stopped attending school and were most recently provided an I-94 indicating that you are permitted to remain in the US for duration of status ("D/S"), the unlawful presence clock has likely NOT begun to accrue. An application for reinstatement, however, can bring a discussion of unlawful presence into the picture and you do not want to have an unlawful presence issue in your case because this can really make it difficult to obtain issuance of ANY visa through a consulate if you are required at some point to depart the US.
I can imagine that there are many questions and a lot of uncertainty. Consult with an attorney who knows how to address the issues discussed above. Bring concerns to the Department of Homeland Security's attention and do not attempt to avoid the difficulties which lie ahead. It has been my experience that a properly documented and explained application for reinstatement CAN work. And with the question of a natural disaster in your home country in the mix, you may get be successful in getting yourself back on track without having to leave.
But it is up to you to take it from here and to set forth a strategy of resolving the outstanding issues in your case. The longer that you wait and the more that you attempt to avoid the problems, the more likely that you will face difficulties. Get an attorney on board, get the school on board and ask lots of questions. Your future ability to remain and/or return to the US is on the line. Make an informed decision. Good luck
tuart Jonas ReichImmigration AttorneyNew York, NY ·
You do need to speak with the foreign student officer at your school and perhaps an attorney - reinstatement is really your best option if possible.
The good news is that as an F-1, you were likely admitted "D/S" - so you are not accruing unlawful presence toward a reentry bar. But, falling out of status in the SEVIS system does notify ICE - so you need to get this taken care of or leave - otherwise you risk officers appearing on your doorstep.
