Biden announces STEM changes for F-1, J-1, O-1A and National Interest Waivers
24 January 2022
Students in the following fields will be able to obtain STEM OPT extensions for 24 months:
Search
Jan 20, 2022, Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)
Nonimmigrant Visas
Immigration Law
Discussion Topics, Jan 20, 2022 FAQs:
1. EB-1B for postdoctoral holder after a gap of several years in career 2. Date of birth and name corrections in birth certificate 3. COVID-19 delays in tourist/visitor extensions for B-2 holding parent and applying for their green card
17-Month STEM CAP GAP OPT Extension Voided by Court
24 December 2015
DHS has asked for an additional extension of stay to 10 May 2016 of the court order under which the STEM extension of OPT was invalidated by the DC federal court. DHS needs time to review appx. 50,500 comments they have received on the new proposed regulations. I am moving the new discussion to this link: http://www.immigration.com/blogs/new-rules-17-month-stem-extension-ongoing-updates-until-completed
17-Month STEM CAP GAP OPT Extension Voided by Court
A Washington DC Federal court has held that DHS improperly promulgated the 2008 regulations creating the 17-month OPT CAP GAP extension for STEM graduates (strictly speaking, this is not reallly "CAP GAP" issue). According to the court, DHS should have placed the proposed regulation before the public, allowed everyone to comment, considered the comments and then published the final regulation. Thus, DHS violated the procedural mandate requiring "notice and comment." According to the court, there was no good reason to skip the "notice and comment" mandate.