I had a situation recently, and am trying to figure out the legality of certain actions.
My wife was working on a H1B visa, when she was admitted into a graduate program. We decided to carry out a COS from H1 to F1. The school issued the I-20, beginning 20th of August (start of fall semester) for this purpose.
The school registration period started on the 10th of August and she had International Office holds. At this point she had just quit her job, while her COS was still ongoing (we had received the I-539 receipt). The school asked her to provide proof of legal status, at which point we provided the I-539 receipt notice from USCIS. Following this the DSO removed her holds so she could register.
Right after this we received news from our lawyer that a RFE had been received by him, and asked us if any changes had been made to the I-20. We went to the school and found out that the DSO had deferred the I-20 to the next semester on the 10th of August (10 days before start of classes) and put her down as a H1B carrying out studies. On our lawyers suggestion she decided to leave the country and come back on a H4 (as my dependent). So while this issue is resolved for now (after considerable financial and mental grievance), I had a few questions:
1) Did the DSO act an illegal (unethical?) manner in deferring the I-20 before start of classes?
2) Could this (not having a current I-20) indeed have been the reason for the RFE we received?
On a personal note, the DSO had been extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate during the whole process. I am trying to figure out if the DSO's action (deliberate or not) jeopardized the conversion.

