On July 20, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced new policy guidance that eliminates the need for individuals who have applied for a change of status (COS) to F-1 student to apply to change or extend their nonimmigrant status while their initial F-1 COS application is pending.
Under the previous policy, applicants needed to maintain status up to 30 days before the program start date listed on their Form I-20, Certificate for Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status, which required them to file extensions, or an initial COS and subsequent extensions ensuring that they would not have a “gap” in status.
Complete news can be accessed at the link below;
https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/applicants-for-change-of-status-to-f-1-student-no-longer-need-to-submit-subsequent-applications-to?fbclid=IwAR2VPafU27LsCLxHDfcfoCMTQyh3BNVZnfIgaqI70vPJ-MjMfusQ_dhKoH8