EAD Rejection and Current Status

[miamaam]

Hi all,
Sorry about the long post I am about to post, but I am so confused.
I was enrolled in a PhD program in NJ while my husband was working in MI. Last year he had some health issues, so I decided to graduate with an MA and look for jobs in MI.
I contacted the International student services (ISS) about OPT and they have me the forms required and general instructions and said I had 60 days to apply for OPT. I was leaving for MI immediately, so I asked them to mail the new I20 for OPT to me.
Because of holiday, postal service and what not, I received the new I20 on 1/13/12. It took me a few days to make all the photocopies and send out the application. I thought I had 60 days, so I was not in a big hurry.
In the meantime my husbands Green card is being processed by his employer, and his date became current. His lawyers said that I could be added to the application and they also applied for an EAD on my behalf.
Today I received a notice that my EAD under OPT was rejected since I had not applied within 30 days of the endorsement of the I20. I am quite shocked as I was totally unaware of this rule. The date on my I20 is 12/16/11.
I realize lack of knowledge is never a good defense, but I was not aware of the mistake. My question is, am I currently out of status and do I need to leave the country immediately? My husband has to have back surgery at the end of this month, so that will be very difficult. Can I reapply for EAD under OPT? Will the other EAD application also be rejected because of my current status? Or can I change my status to H4 legally? I am currently still on F1 and have an I20 valid till 12/15/12. Does this rejection immediately invalidate the I20? What can I do to legally stay in the USA?
Any help is greatly appreciated. I won't be hearing from ISS or my GC lawyer till monday at the earliest and my head is literally spinning.
Thank in advance.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Your visa is not what controls the duration of your stay. First and foremost, that's controlled by your I-94. Is your I-94 marked with a date or with "D/S"? If it's a date, you would accrue unlawful presence as of that date, but if it's "D/S" you would accrue unlawful presence only after a judicial determination that you've overstayed - which isn't to say that there are no potential consequences for staying past the end of your program but you would not immediately start accruing unlawful presence. Either way, as you're in SEVIS, once it's reported by your school that you're no longer enrolled it's possible for action to be taken.

I suggest talking to your academic institution about whether they can help you with OPT. They may find a way to pull a rabbit out of their hat.

Is the idea that your husband's H1B would be approved for Oct. 1, 2012?

[miamaam]

My husband is already on H1B for the past 3 years, his employer also applied for GC on behalf of him and the priority date became current last month. He applied for GC before we got married, my name was only added to the application last month and the lawyers also applied for EAD for me under the GC application. We have been married for 16 months.
Since the whole process was being handled by them, I never really got into the details.
My I 94 says D/S. How does the judicial determination of overstay take place? If I apply for H4 right away, will I still accrue unlawful presence?