Re: Need you guys help
There are 2 things to consider:
1) ** your status in US **: if you get your new I-20 for PHD for lets say 5 years, you can stay in US legally for that time period. You are fine as long as you stay in USA. But if you want to visit Pak or something, you need to have F1 stamped on your passport to get back into US, read below.
2) ** F1 visa stamped on your passport **: If you are Pakistani citizen, it is preferred to get US visa from Pakistan. But if have seen pakistani citizens getting F1 or H1 from Canada, Mexico and other countries. Once I got H1 visa from Malaysia and I was just visiting the country. Other time in UAE, I was asked to go back to Pakistan to get US visa, as I was just visiting UAE. so it depends on your luck.
There is another thing called background check. If your visa is approved, and if you are male citizen of Pak of age b/w 18 and 40, your case will go for security clearance. This can take any time b/w a week to 6 months or even more. I've seen people stuck in Pak for almost an year. Good Luck.