A student I know is applying for a change of status (COS) from F1 to B2 to buy time for another H-1B attempt. However, they need to travel home due to a family emergency. What happens if they leave while the COS is pending?
if you are applying for a cos, you are required to be physically present inside the US while the case is on going. your case will be denied. once it is, you can apply for B2 from your home country and use the B2 visa sticker to come back to the US.