Got selected in H1B lottery this year, lawyer has not filed for change of status yet. I am currently in F1 status working on D1 CPT (2nd masters). My spouse is here with me in US as well.
The lawyer said that if chose premium, then we would have to cover the premium fees and not the employer (around $3k). My Masters has break from Oct-Dec period, so no need to pay fees. However, if need to enroll in Jan semester, need to pay $3500 (+ around $1k for residency travel etc).
I would like to obtain advice on:
• What is the chances of RFE in this case? l've searched for job myself (no consultancy involved), is genuine and working for almost 3 yrs here.
• Is it recommended to do Premium processing in this case?
My initial thought was like it might be waste if money if case does not get RFE or even in case of RFE later, thought of upgrading to Premium for faster processing (to finalize by December).
• If upgraded to Premium processing, does both me and my wife status transfer gets decided at same time? Heard somewhere that later upgrade to premium might not have joint decision.
• Lastly, is there any risk of dropping the masters course after changed to H1B? Still 1+ yrs to go and around $15k more in fees if continue the course.
Thanks so much for your insights, really appreciate your time.