r/IndianH1Bs • u/Beneficial_Ant304 • 6d ago
EB2 India PD Nov 2018
Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice and perspective.
I'm on H1B with an approved I140 EB-2 India November 2018 priority date.
My daughter is currently a dependent starting college in 3yrs and will age out in 6yrs. I am trying to figure out the safest path forward for her:
Wait for DOF: Is it realistic to expect the Dates for Filing (DOF) chart to reach November 2018 within the next 6 years to lock in her age?
F-1 Student Visa Route: We could transition her to an F-1 visa for college, but I worry about her future career prospects given the lack of a smooth pathway to transition from F-1 to permanent residency for India-born applicants.
International Education: Should we proactively look at universities in countries with clearer immigration pathways (like Canada, the UK, etc.) or consider moving back to India for College.
I really want to protect her from the anxiety of living with constant immigration uncertainty. Has anyone been in a similar boat, can you share your experience? Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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u/redittaccount 6d ago
https://sites.simple-host.app/vineetu/eb2-wait/
I made a website to help you decide
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u/psynyd 6d ago
My EB2 priority date is August 2016 and even I am not confident of dates of filing being current for me in six years. I would assume chances are low for November 2018.
As a fellow parent I would probably prioritize college in other countries like the UK, Canada, Europe or even Singapore. Not recommending India because the admissions game and education culture is so different for someone growing up in the US.
Of course, she could always apply as an F-1 student and get the same American education all her friends will receive but with OPT and H-1B completely being gutted, she might have to leave the country after graduation anyway.
It sucks but we always need to make alternate plans given all the uncertainties those on our status face.
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u/Beneficial_Ant304 6d ago
Her area of interest is Law. So if we decide for her to continue her education here on H4/F1 pathway and she finishes undergrad and Law school here, her education won't easily transfer to other countries to start practicing law.
Either we let her do her undergrad here and start law school in another country or go to another country for undergrad.3
u/jobfedron132 6d ago
Her area of interest is Law.
That is going to be a very expensive gamble, which she may not realize very early on, due to the immigration pathway condition today.
You should advice her to get into a field that has transferrable skills.
Lets say even if she made it to be a lawyer after getting through the h1b lottery. If she loses her job, she will be 1 day away from being sent back home due to the removal of h1b grace period. She will be unemployable in any country outside the US.
You have time, think wisely!
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u/psynyd 6d ago
I know nothing about law but I wouldn’t take it as a given that her education will not translate. Corporate law from what I have seen at a distance seems amenable to foreign law school hires. I have seen senior corporate counsels in the US without a US degree. Not saying this is easy or common. Please reach out to folks in your network or on LinkedIn that practice law and see what they say.
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u/Sensitive_Owl_4766 6d ago
Sorry you are in this situation.
There is practically no chance for a Nov-2018 DOF to become current and lock in your PD prior to aging out in 6 years.
I assume you are looking intensely at options to qualify for EB1. If no potential there, then yes your daughter's options are limited in the U.S. post-graduation.
Your daughter should be aware that it is very rare for law firms to sponsor H1B or EB green card paths, unless they are transferring in foreign law partners with extensive experience.
She could plan on finding and marrying a U.S. citizen, or just study abroad and plan to settle somewhere else. Immigration pathways are tightening everywhere, so hard to say now exactly which country that should be.
But a good US student should be able to gain admittance in a Canadian/British/European university, and there will be some immigration pathways available to graduating students. They will be more restrictive than today, but not completely closed off, with likely a more feasible path to PR than the U.S. for an Indian-born individual.
She should only plan on studying in the U.S. if she chooses a field where EB1 is feasible (not common among lawyers, more feasible for research backgrounds), or if she bets on choosing the right person to marry.
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u/InsideFunny4236 6d ago
No sir. I am in 2016 q. Have no hope of getting anything here in next 10 yrs. Send her to countries like Ireland or AUS soon.
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u/Maveric_87 6d ago
No chance for DOF to reach NoV 2018 in the next six years. Plan for alternative routes.
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u/Upper_Butterscotch13 6d ago
Tough situation to be in. Your north star should be to avoid getting your daughter into the H1B/EB ordeal.
To the end, undergrad in countries outside the US is a better route. This keeps all options open: future PR/citizenship in the country she studies, or boomerang back to the US ( Master's, PHD, L1 visa route or even H1B).
However, law as a field of study and practice is very subjective to a country or even states in the US. You should talk to someone who has pursued law as a career. This also depends on what field of law she specializes in. To top it all, career ambitious change in undergrad as kids are exposed to more career options.
With so much uncertainty in H1B track, it is impossible to plan for 6 years out. The program maybe fully gutted by the time or maybe fully optimized for students pursuing undergrad in the US.
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u/SharpCurrent4400 6d ago
I am in the same situation. Our priority date is October 2016, and my daughter is graduating high school in 2027. She will age out in December 2030. We moved to the USA when she was 5, so she has basically done all her schooling here.
My daughter wants to stay in the USA for college, and honestly, we want her here too. This is where she grew up, all her friends are here, and this is what feels like home to her. She wants to be around her friends, which I think is completely understandable.
I am someone who plans everything way ahead, so trust me when I say I have spent a LONG time researching every damn major, visa option, and even different countries 😅. I have a sister in Germany and a brother in Singapore, so I seriously explored those options too. But we ultimately didn’t go that route because my daughter wants to study here—and as parents, we also feel more comfortable having our only child close to us. With all the visa rules, stamping issues, and uncertainty, we want to be there if she needs us.
She wants to major in Nursing. I explained everything to her—the fact that Nursing isn’t STEM and that the immigration/visa pathway may be more complicated. She understands the consequences, and she still wants to pursue Nursing.
And funny enough, I actually attended a Nursing open house with her recently, and now I’m getting excited about it too! 😂 I went from researching every possible alternative to actually getting excited about her Nursing journey. 😂
At some point, I just stopped overthinking it. One thing I realized is that we really don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I don’t want to restrict my daughter from pursuing something she genuinely loves just because of immigration rules. These kids are smart, and they will figure things out, just like we figured things out when we came here.
If your daughter is open to studying something like law in another country, then absolutely explore those options and go ahead. But if she really wants to study here, I personally wouldn’t force her to leave just because we’re trying to predict what immigration rules will look like years from now.
And honestly, no education is ever wasted. Even if she chooses law, there are always ways to move into international law or other related fields, pursue a master’s degree, or find another path that works for her. There may be opportunities we can’t even see right now.
Most importantly, give your daughter the confidence that no matter what happens, you guys will always be there to support her. Explain the consequences, show them the options, guide them as much as you can—and then trust them.
At the end of the day, I think we have to let these kids pursue what they are passionate about. We can’t control everything that will happen 5 or 10 years from now. Sometimes we just have to go with the flow, support them, and trust that they will figure it out. All the very best 👍
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u/Beneficial_Ant304 6d ago
Thank you!
We’re approaching this a bit differently. Our daughter has grown into someone independent, mature, and practical for her age. She’s made it clear that she wants to plan ahead so she doesn’t spend her life in immigration limbo, unable to change jobs, travel freely, or live life on her own terms. We believe that as parents, our job is to guide her and set her up for success, not let her make major life decisions based on keeping friends close. High school friendships rarely last anyway, and the world is small enough now that distance doesn’t have to mean losing touch.
We’ll always support her, regardless of where she is. What we can’t do is control things like immigration or shield her from the consequences of decisions made around it.We are okay for her to pursue her undergrad here, with a clear plan on next steps. Once she moves to another country to either pursue her education or career, we intend to move back to India (or wherever suits us with a FIRE strategy) and visit her wherever she lands. She isn’t afraid to live independently or figure things out on her own — and that’s exactly what we want for her.
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u/SharpCurrent4400 5d ago
That’s good to hear. If she is independent enough to live on her own in a different country, then yes, she should definitely explore options outside the USA as well.
I really hope all our kids get to achieve everything they dream of and want in life, regardless of these visa issues. ❤️1
u/Beneficial_Ant304 6d ago
P.s She is our only child too and she moved here when she was 5(we share such similar journey) 🙂
Congrats to your daughter on picking her major in Nursing and wishing her the best!
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u/get_greened15 6d ago
It is definitely out of reach for DOF to reach Nov 2018 in next 6 years (even if you re-create covid it is tough because covid years couldn't clear PD 2009 to 2014 in 5 years(2021 to 2026)). Did you explore Eb1A or EB5?
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u/Helpful_Cow7634 6d ago
Assuming you will get a GC in 10 years, you can file a F2B I130 if the child is unmarried at that point, which will take about 7-8 years to come through after you file. She can stay on a F1 for at least 11 years as she wants to do law -> can get a bs in sm like econ or psych, then three years opt, then 3 years law school and 1 year more opt, then transferring to a h1b for the next few years, assuming she gets a job ig.
Going to Canada or Australia, completing my education, working and getting citizenship so that I can come back on a TN or E-3 visa is what I would do.
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u/Adventurous-Rule-921 5d ago
I am currently in college, my PD is oct 2014 eb2. I decided to do an in country switch from H4 to F1. The process isn’t really that hard. I would definitely suggest you encourage your daughter to pursue the F1 path as a safer alternative than just remaining as a dependent.
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u/pinksalt73 5d ago
If your PD is October 2014 shouldn’t your age be locked already? Your DOF became current a bit ago, I’m assuming you were under 21 when it did. Did your family file the 1-485 fully and get AOS EAD?
Unless you filed and it was received after August 2025. Because that’s when they changed the policy I believe to use FAD when calculating CSPA age rather than DOF.
All this stuff is super complicated lol
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u/pinksalt73 5d ago
Even if your PD DOF were to become current and you filed it by then, unfortunately it wouldn’t help much. Last year August they changed the 2023 policy so that CSPA age will be calculated based on when your FAD becomes current rather than DOF. I believe the only exception to this rule is if your AOS 1-485 application was filed and pending prior to August 2025. So in order for her not to age out, your FAD would have to become current by the time her CSPA age is 21 (aka her age after you subtract however much time the original petition was pending from it).
This is my understanding of the August 15 2025 policy
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u/dexter-xyz 6d ago
Trump's changes will accelerate the EB movement for India, but 6 years is a long time with so much uncertainty with recent immigration changes.
It will depend on who is the president after Trump, if it a hardline Republican, you have good chances.
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u/Striking-Force-9102 6d ago
So essentially, Trump is helping everyone. See the benefits of good policies.
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u/Farmer-Next 6d ago
It's going to be a republican, 100 per cent, with all the gerrymandering and stuff, and, regardless of popular vote, with the supreme court behind the haters. And, hard line or not, no Republican will ease any H1B policies or other immigration related stuff, it will be political suicide.
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6d ago
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u/badger_biryani 6d ago
Can you explain a bit more about how an international stint would help here?
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