As discussed elsewhere on this blog, DHS has finalized a new rule governing F-1 status, scheduled to take effect on Sept. 15, 2026. The rule’s core change is to eliminate Duration of Status (D/S) for F-1 students, J exchange visitors, and I foreign media representatives, replacing it with fixed admission periods and requiring extensions
ICE leadership emphasized that misuse of the foreign student employment framework is viewed as a compliance and national security concern.
Continue Reading OPT Under Scrutiny: What Increased ICE Enforcement Means for Employers
On July 22, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will be adding a new field of study to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Designated Degree Program List: Environmental/Natural Resource Economics (03.0204). This program applies economic concepts to analyze environmental issues like pollution, land use, and conservation policies, incorporating cost-benefit
USCIS has made it easier for certain F-1 students who are seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions to apply for premium processing. Beginning March 6, 2023, students who have already filed Form I-765 and fall under the categories of (c)(3)(A) Pre-Completion OPT, (c)(3)(B) Post-Completion
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that F-1 students seeking optional practical training (OPT) can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization online if they are filing for: pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT, or STEM OPT. The online filing option comes in the midst of USCIS’ significant backlogs in issuing receipt notices and
On May 7, 2020, four U.S. senators wrote a letter to President Trump, requesting that he suspend “all new guest worker visas” for 60 days, and others for a year “or until unemployment has returned to normal levels.” The requested changes to the guest worker program come amid all-time high unemployment in the United
USCIS announced today, April 6, 2018, that the FY 2019 H-1B cap is now closed because it has received a sufficient number of H‐1B petitions to reach the 65,000 statutory cap as well as the 20,000 advanced degree exemption. The announcement did not provide details about the total number of H-1B petitions filed. USCIS
This week, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) published its quarterly “SEVIS by the Numbers” report announcing that there are over one million international students in the United States. Many of these students will seek employment with U.S. companies using work authorization granted to them pursuant to their F or M visa status. In
The new STEM OPT program became effective on May 10, 2016, and represents a complete overhaul of how this program has operated since 2008. For the uninitiated, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics; and OPT stands for Optional Practical Training. As previously reported, F-1 students with qualifying STEM degrees are now eligible
Today DHS released an advanced copy of its final rule allowing foreign students with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to extend their Optional Practical Training (OPT) for an additional 24 months. DHS will publish the final rule in the Federal Register this Friday. The rule will go into effect on May 10.