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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published the U Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide (PDF, 1.58 MB) to provide law enforcement and other certifying agencies with helpful information and best practices for the U visa certification process.

On March 23, 2018, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will launch the SEVP Portal for F-1 students participating in post-completion optional practical training (OPT) and M-1 students participating in practical training.

The portal will allow these F-1 and M-1 students to report personal and employer information directly to SEVP. Through the portal, these students will be able to:

USCIS reminds F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) that transferring to another school or beginning study at another educational level (for example, beginning a master’s program after completing a bachelor’s degree) automatically terminates their OPT as well as their corresponding employment authorization document (EAD). 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved the statutory maximum of 10,000 petitions for U-1 nonimmigrant status (U visas) for fiscal year 2016. This marks the seventh straight year that USCIS has reached the statutory maximum since it began issuing U visas in 2009.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published amended regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for certain international students with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education. The amended regulations will go into effect May 10. Under the new regulations, certain students can apply to have a STEM OPT extension of 24 months. The new regulations also enhance federal oversight of the training program.

On December 12, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency. This determination immediately affects two immigration-related programs: 

• USCIS recently published an update to the following forms and supplements:

In July, the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) will begin processing cases involving Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status. Sharing this workload with the Vermont Service Center (VSC) will balance workloads between centers and provide flexibility as USCIS works towards improving processing times, efficiency and customer service to this victim population.

USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):

Update to Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status03/13/2017 01:38 PM EDT

New edition dated 02/07/17. Starting 05/12/17, USCIS will only accept the 02/07/17 edition. Until then, you can use the 01/15/13, 11/23/10 and 08/31/07 editions.

For more information, please visit Forms Updates page.

Starting June 29, 2020, petitioners residing in certain states must file the following forms at the Nebraska Service Center, instead of the Vermont Service Center:

WASHINGTON – The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced modifications Monday to temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online classes due to the pandemic for the fall 2020 semester. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to publish the procedures and responsibilities in the Federal Register as a Temporary Final Rule.

Temporary exemptions for the fall 2020 semester include:

Release Date 08/18/2020