Author: Katie
USCIS Announces Proposed Rule for STEM Extensions of OPT
Pursuant to recent Federal court litigation (discussed previously in TSA emails), USCIS has proposed a new rule for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) optional practical training (OPT). Basically the new rule will allow for a 24 month extension for STEM graduates to the basic 12 months of OPT provided to most F-1 student graduates. […]
USCIS Announces Temporary Changes to Visa Bulletin and Adjustment of Status Filing Dates
Pursuant to a joint effort by the U.S. Department of State and the Immigration Service, for a temporary time (probably only October 2015) the family and employment cut off dates have been accelerated. This is the same window of opportunity which we alerted everyone about last week regarding Registered Nurses. Please see the link below[…]
Step Right Up, Nurses, and Get Your Green Cards!
For the first time in almost seven years, Registered Nurses have the opportunity to obtain permanent residence during the Optional Practical Training (OPT) period immediately after graduation as an F-1 student. The reason for this is actually very simple: the Third Preference and “Other Workers” categories are almost current for all countries except China, India[…]
It’s the End of the STEM Extension, But Not Really
The US Federal District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the STEM extension for Optional Practical Training was not properly promulgated by the Immigration Service in 2008 and therefore the regulation has been invalidated (but see the rest of the story below). F-1 foreign students are generally provided with one year of[…]