August 8 is the Deadline to Apply to Add 7 Months to a 17-Month STEM OPT Extension
If you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 months to your STEM OPT period.
If you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 months to your STEM OPT period.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed changes to its regulations that would strengthen and enhance the process for foreign students with science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degrees from a U.S. college or university to get practical training experience in the United States. The enhancement of this regulation was announced as a part of President Obama’s November Executive Actions.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) from U.S. institutions of higher education. Specifically, the proposal would allow such F-1 STEM students who have elected to pursue 12 months of OPT in the United States to extend the OPT period by 24 months (STEM OPT extension).
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.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) from U.S. institutions of higher education. Specifically, the proposal would allow such F-1 STEM students who have elected to pursue 12 months of OPT in the United States to extend the OPT period by 24 months (STEM OPT extension). This 24-month extension would effectively replace the 17-month STEM OPT extension currently available to certain STEM students.
The STEM Designated Degree Program list is a complete list of fields of study DHS considers to be science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields of study for purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension described at 8 CFR 214.2(f). Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(2), a STEM field of study is a field of study “included in the Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy within the two-digit series containing engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, or a related field.
For two weeks after premium processing resumes for H-1B cap-subject petitions, USCIS will not use pre-paid mailers to send out final notices for premium processing H-1B cap-subject petitions. Instead, USCIS will use regular mail. USCIS will be doing this due to resource limitations as work to process all premium processing petitions in a timely manner. After the two week period, USCIS will resume sending out final notices in the pre-paid mailers provided by petitioners.
Published by: The Economic Times - Date: February 02, 2021
ALERT: Although F-1 nonimmigrant students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) may apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT employment authorization, our policies regarding the cap-gap extension remain the same.
USCIS is updating the Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) page of the website to clarify the reporting responsibilities for participating in the STEM OPT program. Students and employers must report material changes to the Designated School Official (DSO) at the earliest opportunity by submitting a modified Form I-983. Employers must report the STEM OPT
On March 23, 2018, the Student and
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions to Begin by April 28, 2014
This checklist is optional to assist FY 2015 H-1B petioners submit an I-129 H-1B petiton.
Please click on the attachment to view the checklist.
IMMIGRATION INNOVATION (I2) ACT OF 2013
ORRIN HATCH (R-UTAH), AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MINN.), MARCO RUBIO (R-FLA.), CHRIS COONS (D-DEL.)
Employment-Based Nonimmigrant H-1B Visas
1. Increase H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000
2. Establish a market-based H-1B escalator, so that the cap can adjust – up or down – to the demands of the economy (includes a 300,000 ceiling on the ability of the escalator to move)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2014 within the first week of the filing period, which ended on April 5, 2013. USCIS also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.
As reported by The Indian Express:
The proposed changes in the issuing of H-1B visas, the highly sought after US work permits, will badly affect the Indian IT firms which depend heavily on these work visas.
This afternoon, Senators Schumer and McCain briefed me on the bipartisan immigration reform bill that they have drafted with their colleagues in the Senate. This bill is clearly a compromise, and no one will get everything they wanted, including me. But it is largely consistent with the principles that I have repeatedly laid out for comprehensive reform. This bill would continue to strengthen security at our borders and hold employers more accountable if they knowingly hire undocumented workers.
The period of time when an F-1 student’s status and work authorization expire through the start date of their approved H-1B employment period is known as the "Cap-Gap".
Please check the attached memo.
Release Date
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance clarifying how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1A nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability, with a focus on petitions filed for individuals in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields, as well as how USCIS determines whether an O-1 beneficiary’s prospective work is within their area of extraordinary ability or achievement.
Release Date
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using the online H-1B registration system.