Keep Request/Issue status as is when converting it to Project

We need to have Workfront maintain the status of the request/issue after it is converted to a project and not change the status of the request back to "New". Currently, this is what happens in WF:

1. Requestor submitted a request/issue to a reviewer for project execution
2. The status of the request changed to "New"
3. The requestor approved the request for project execution and the status of the request turned "Approved"
4. The customized queue that we built sends this approved request to the queue owner and he/she would change the status of the request to "Approved for Prioritization" (a customized status).
5. However, when this request/issue is converted to Project object, the status changed to "New" for the request...we do not want that...we want it to keep its status at "Approved for Prioritization".