Working under an EAD (work permit) while on student status

This is a discussion about the issue where, if you use an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to work under a work permit while on student status, your existing status disappears.

Student status is a nonimmigrant status. The moment you begin working under an EAD obtained through an immigration application, your status shifts to reflect immigrant intent, and your existing (nonimmigrant) status is extinguished. So if your green card is ultimately denied, you may have no status to fall back on, and could face an unexpected requirement to leave the country immediately — please keep this in mind. We strongly recommend maintaining your existing status without using the work permit card whenever possible.

In other words, F-1/F-2 are both nonimmigrant statuses. The moment you begin receiving immigrant benefits using an EAD and Advance Parole after filing Form I-485, your existing F-1/F-2 status (which falls under the nonimmigrant category) is extinguished immediately — resulting in the loss of any separate nonimmigrant status.