Change of Status \ Consular Processing
What is Change of Status\Consular Processing?
In order to understand the terms "Change of Status" and "Consular Processing", think of an L-1 manager or executive who wishes to quit his job at the American company and accept an offer of employment from a new company that will hire him based on his professional background. If that person is now eligible for this category of business visa, (the H-1B), he or she will be faced with two options:
1. Apply for the new visa from within the United States, through a process called "Change of Status"; or
2. Travel back to his or her country of origin, and apply for the new visa there, through a process called "consular processing" at the local U.S. consulate.
Which Option is Better?
When faced with choosing between change of status and consular processing, applicants will generally be better off choosing the first option: changing their status while remaining in the United States
Why? There are several reasons. The most important reason is that a denied applicant in the United States can usually stay there while fixing the visa problem that caused the denial. The applicant also has the option to appeal to a federal court and to ask immigration officials to allow him or her to work until his request or appeal is processed.
This is not the case for an applicant who applies for his or her visa through consular processing. If denied, this applicant's options are more limited. Although requesting to reopen or reconsider the case is still possible, no appeal in a court of law is granted and the Department of State, which has the authority to review consular decisions, will usually not overturn such decisions unless they are based on incorrect interpretations of immigration law or regulations. There are several other reasons for choosing change of status over consular processing: Applicants, who were illegally staying in the United States and then leave, risk being kept out of the United States.
Applicants who are eligible for change of status can continue to work while they wait for their application to be processed.
Applicants leaving the United States may be faced with inadmissibility issues that can keep them from reentering the country.
Anyone in the United States who qualifies for change of status can choose consular processing abroad instead. For the reasons stated above, this is not usually recommended, despite the fact that consular processing is often much faster than changing status.