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USCIS EXTENDS OPT TIME!!
The USCIS announced today the release of an interim
final rule regarding extension of OPT from 12 to 29
months for 'qualified F-1 non-immigrant students.'
The extension will be available to F1 students with a
degree in science, technology, engineering, or
mathematics who are employed by businesses
enrolled in the E-Verify program. To be eligible for an
OPT extension under this new regulation, an F-1
student must:
- Currently be participating in a 12-month period of
approved post-completion OPT;
- Have successfully completed a degree in science,
engineering, technology, or mathematics (STEM)
included in the DHS STEM Designated Degree
Program List from a college or university certified by
the US 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 US 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.
A section of the press release also reads, '[a]nother
aspect of the rule responds to the situation in which
an F-1 student's status and work authorization expires
before he or she can begin employment under the H-
1B visa program. The interim final rule addresses
this problem by automatically extending the period of
stay and work authorization for all F-1 students with
pending H-1B petitions. The rule will also implement
certain programmatic changes, including allowing
students to apply for OPT within 60 days of graduation.'
A COPY OF THE RULE TEXT HAS NOT YET BEEN
RELEASED. IT WILL BE POSTED TO OUR WEBSITE
ON OUR 'H1B NEWS' PAGE IMMEDIATELY WHEN IT
BECOMES AVAILABLE. FURTHER LEGAL ANALYSIS
OF THE RULE WILL SUBSEQUENTLY BE PROVIDED
ON OUR WEBSITE AFTER RECEIPT & REVIEW OF
THE RULE TEXT.
INFINITI LAW H1B NEWS PAGE
If you know of anyone else who would like to
receive our
Law Alerts, please feel free to forward this
email using
the link below.
Sincerely,
Charlotte Danielsson, Esq, Infiniti Law
JD Stanford Law School; BA UC Berkeley
phone:
(415)874-3540
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