Legal Question in Immigration Law in Maryland

Re: F-1 student visa

You should have been issued an I-94 that was stapled into your passport when you arrived in the US on your F-1. It was likely marked "DS" or "Duration of Status," meaning you are permitted to remain in the US as long as you maintain your status as a student. If you leave school, your F-1 will no longer be valid and you will be expected to depart the US. Simply filing an I-130 does not give you any immigration status. The wait time just to process the application can take quite a while, and then waiting for a visa to become current can take years. You will either have to maintain your F-1 status by staying in school or find some other status to bridge the gap between filing the I-130 and when a visa becomes current to avoid leaving the US.

One thing to point out -- if you do leave school and return to your home country, you will likely find it very difficult even to visit the US as tourist during this time due to the I-130 being on file and demonstrating immigrant intent. Of course, if and when the I-130 is approved and an immigrant visa becomes current, you can then enter the US as an immigrant, but before then, it will be difficult to return to the US.