How to stay in the USA on a tourist visa ?

1 on F1, which is better: language courses or a one-year program? If you are already in the United States on a tourist status, meaning you had a tourist visa, entered the country, were allowed in, and were given a certain period of time, with your I-94 showing B1 or B2 status, and this status has not yet expired, then, in principle, it doesn’t matter which program you apply for.

Personally, I think it is much easier to apply for language courses because the start date of the language program can be very flexible. That is, if your student status has not been approved by a certain date, the program start can simply be postponed. If it is a one-year program, usually the start date is fixed on specific dates. Imagine you chose a program starting on August 1st, and your student status is not approved in time, then you will need to change everything. Accordingly, there will be date mismatches in the SEVIS system, and most likely your application will be denied because of this.

Regarding waiting for student status approval — if it is denied, did you violate your stay on a tourist visa? First question. Second: will your tourist visa be annulled?

The first question about violating status depends on when exactly your student status change is denied. That is, if by that moment your current tourist status has already expired, then yes, this means you are out of status and must take urgent action.

As for visa annulment, to have it annulled, basically, you either need to go to a U.S. consulate or arrive at the border. That is, you would need to leave the U.S. and try to re-enter with this tourist visa.

In general, if your tourist status has ended by the time you leave the U.S. and you plan to re-enter on this tourist visa, there is a high chance that it will be annulled upon attempting entry.