Groan

Okay, update here.

After talking to the lawyer, she had mentioned that I’m in a “grey area” timeline, meaning to say that she doesn’t have a definite date for when I’ll be overstaying my welcome (because I’ve graduated, but SEVIS says that my student status is active). If I don’t go back to school soon (be it for a certificate program or something else), my SEVIS status will be eventually noticed by Immigration and the status will be dropped. She gave me about a month.

As for other visa options, they're is out of question because I’ll need to be a specialist in a certain field, where no other American can fill. H-1Bs will only begin their lottery in April, so I basically need to buy enough time to stay in legal status until then, and find a company who’s willing to sponsor me.

Her advice was to go with ISSO’s suggestion of getting back into school first, get a CPT during this certificate program, and go from there. She also noted that me having only a BSc and not a Master’s degree makes it harder for the other options mentioned above.

I’ve contacted my department to see what programs are out there, and hopefully they’ll get back to me soon. That’s all I have for now.

In the meantime, I'll just have to accept my parents' tough love of bickering and finger-pointing and I-told-you-so routines. If there's one thing I dislike the most about their unflappable affection for me, is that their choice of words cannot be less comforting. Sometimes I just do not appreciate tough love.

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Dumps

Sorry for not writing in a while. That's my cue when something monumental happens (or happened) in my life.

Let me summarize:

- Played babysitter to a friend's cat. Reinforced the notion that I'm not a cat person. Never had I used the word "butthole" so frequently over a 5-day period.

- Got a job offer from a big company, which was a great feeling. And then later learning that I can't work for them as my OPT application got rejected from USCIS.

- Worked closely with the folks over at the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) to try and rectify my case. But from what ISSO and I have discussed, reactivation of my OPT application has been denied and even if we appeal for it, it'll be turned down.

- Scheduled for an appointment with an immigration lawyer to explore other options. I'm not hiring one now, just consulting on other avenues.

- It seems very likely that I have to go back to Malaysia. It's not a bad thing, but an immediate return was never on the cards. My main concern is how difficult it might be to find a driven, passionate group to be around (you ARE a representation of the five people you spend the most time with). That, and the opportunities available, along with the current shaky economic status.

So that's my summary. Pretty shitty, but that's life sometimes. My advisor over at ISSO says that this could be a sign from a higher power. But I don't know what to think of that.

All I know if that I have never felt this down and defeated before. And I've had my fair share in the past. Let's hope the attorney has better news.

As for now, it's time to make my peace with whoever I know here in The States. Seems like I need a miracle for things to change.

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