Philadelphia Immigration Lawyer Blog

On May 23, 2008, the DHS issued a supplemental set of Questions and Answers related to the new interim rules regarding extending OPT from 12 t0 29 months for certain qualified F-1 students with a STEM degree (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) who are employed by businesses enrolled in the E-Verify program.

The interim final rule was released on April 4, 2008 and the initial set of Question and Answers was published earlier.

The new rule also addresses the issue of when an F-1 student’s status and work authorization expires before he or she can begin employment under the H-1B visa program, the automatic extension of the period of stay and work authorization for all F-1 students with pending H-1B petitions and allowing students to apply for OPT within 60 days of graduation.

Rather than repeating the Supplemental Qs and As, here is the link to them.

Posted by James M. Tyler | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Student Visas

Bookmark:

Just a reminder that the USCIS has revised the I-765 Work Authorization form (the revision date is April 8, 2008) and the new form, which is filed by foreign nationals to obtain an EAD (Employment Authorization Document) must be used as of March 31, 2008. The new, revised I-765 include a change that is relevant to F-1 students seeking OPT-based employment authorization and the change is a result of the recently announced Rule that provides for a 17 month extension for certain OPT students.

Here are the new USCIS instructions for the revised I-765.

The prior eligibility code (c)(3)(i) will no longer be used on the I-765. It has been replaced with the following three codes: (c)(3)(A) for pre-completion OPT; (c)(3)(B) for post-completion OPT; and (c)(3)(C) for a 17-month extension for an F-1 student who has received a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM), that appears on the STEM designated Degree Program List published on the SEVP website.

If you are filing as a STEM student requesting the 17-month extension of your currently authorized optional practical training under (c)(3)(C), you must state on the new I-765 your degree, you must now include the employers name and E-Verify id number and you must submit a copy of your degree that must indicate your major field of study.

The new Form I-765 also eliminates the option of filing due to replacement of an EAD that was never received, and for re-issuance of an EAD that was issued with incorrect information due to a USCIS error. If you require a new EADs for either of these two specific reasons, you must contact the specific office that processed the initial EAD or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Posted by James M. Tyler | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Employment Based Immigration , H-1B , News , Student Visas

Bookmark:

On April 4, 2008, DHS announced that it will extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for certain qualified F-1 non-immigrant students. The extension will be available to F-1 students with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics who are employed by businesses enrolled in the E-Verify program.

This rule change will benefit both students and U.S. businesses who will now be able to employ such students in OPT status for much longer than the current 12 month period.

But the real practical benefit of the rule change is for students who previously would have needed to somehow bridge the gap between the end of their F student and OPT work authorization status and the beginning of their H1-B status. This gap has posed many problems for students who needed to find some way to bridge the gap between the two statuses or who simply had to leave the U.S. at the end of their F status in order to avoid a period of unauthorized stay.

Now, under the new rule, the student’s period of stay and work authorization for such F-1 students with pending H-1B petitions.

The rule also implements certain programmatic changes, including allowing students to apply for OPT within 60 days of graduation.

However, in order to benefit from the new rule, the F-1 student must:

• Currently be participating in a 12-month period of approved post-completion OPT;

• Have successfully completed a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) included in the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List from a college or university certified by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program;

• Be working for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the student’s major area of study;

• Be working for, or accepted employment with, an employer enrolled in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ E-Verify program. E-Verify is a free, internet-based system operated in partnership with the Social Security Administration that helps employers to determine the employment eligibility of newly-hired employees; and

• Properly maintain F-1 status.

Here is the DHS announcement.

Posted by James M. Tyler | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Student Visas

Bookmark:

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, on March 31, 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget an interim final rule titled "Extending Period for Optional Practical Training for 17 Months for Qualified F-1 Students” for OMB’s review.

No details yet and I did not see anything on either ICE’s website or OMB’s about any such rule but I will post news about it as soon as we know more.

Posted by James M. Tyler | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Student Visas

Bookmark:

Business Week reported in its January 28, 2008 issue that more and more U.S. community colleges are marketing themselves abroad in hopes of attracting foreign students who can obtain F student visas and the result is a win-win for the schools and the foreign students.

The community college keeps its enrollment up and it benefits from the multicultural exposure the foreign students provide and the foreign student gets a U.S. education with the option of later transferring to a four year program. For example, Diablo Valley College is right near the University of California's Berkeley campus, a selling point for foreign students who might want to eventually transfer there.

Community colleges are marketing not only in places like Vietnam and other South East Asian countries but also in Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Definitely win-win.

Posted by James M. Tyler | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Student Visas

Bookmark:

In what may be a suprise to many, on November 16, 2007, the Department of State announced that in Fiscal Year 2007 it issued a record number of visas to students to study in the United States, even exceeding pre-9/11 levels.

During Fiscal Year 2007, the Department issued more than 651,000 student and exchange visitor visas - 10 percent more than last year and 90,000 more than were issued in Fiscal Year 2001.

That's good news for the U.S. and its economy!

Posted by James M. Tyler | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Student Visas

Bookmark: