Should I apply to renew my F-1 visa or should my parents submit an I-130 petition for me?

If you are an eligible dependent in your parent&#39s EB-5 I-526 petition, you may be eligible to file for adjustment of status. Consult an experienced immigration attorney to go over the details of your case.

You should focus on your studies and get an F-1. The green card will take many years, so hold off on the I-130.

It is my opinion that you should do both: Renew your F-1 visa while your parents file the I-130 on your behalf and you await your immigrant visa priority date.

How old are you? If your parents petition for you by filing I-130, your visa will not be immediately current. You cannot adjust your status anytime soon! So it seems you have to renew your F-1 visa while the I-130 is pending.

Would you be OK with both? I&#39d want to review all timelines and immigration history of course, but maybe both is good.

Based on the information you provided, if you are still maintaining and enrolled in school with a valid/unexpired Sevis I-20 for the period of enrollment, there is no need to renew a visa stamp if you are not traveling. A visa stamp is only required if you need to travel abroad. While you are remaining in the United States, you are not governed by the visa expiration.

Keep your F-1 visa but at the same time your parents can file an I-130 for you as well.

Renew your I-30 and F-1. If you are under 21 now (or under CSPA), you can adjust immediately as an EB-5 derivative. Otherwise, I-130 required but beware of conflict between immigrant and non-immigrant cases.

Yes. You should try to renew your F-1 visa before your parents file the I-130, through which you would have essentially declared your immigrant intent. This way you will be able to freely travel back and forth to the United States. If they file the I-130 and then you try to get the F-1 renewed you will most likely be rejected. Once you get your F-1 visa, they could go ahead and file the I-130 for you. On the other hand, if you never plan to travel outside the U.S., as long as you are enrolled in a U.S. school, you will not be out of status. In that case, you could have your parents file I-130 for you. I hope that clarifies the strategy.

Filing of an I-130 by your LPR parents does not grant any status to you. In order to devise a proper strategy, you need to consider the priority date. In addition, you don&#39t need a valid visa in order to attend school. I-20 and maintenance of status govern.

I assume you were over 21 when your parents filed their I-526 petition or else you would have gotten the green card with them. Simply filing an I-130 on your behalf does not give you any status to remain in the U.S., so if you would like to physically remain in the U.S. while waiting for a green card, you will need to qualify for one non-immigrant visa or another. You should seek experienced immigration counsel to explore options. Please know that the current Visa Bulletin is indicating a date of Sept. 1, 2013, so it will be quite some time for your turn to be reached in the unmarried son/daughter of a green card holder category.

If you are under 21 and live in the U.S., your mother or father should petition for you in July and you should concurrently file for adjustment of status. That way there is no need to miss school. If you are not in the U.S., then a pending I-130 could prevent you from returning to the U.S. on your F-1.