New OPT rule extending the period for STEM degrees

[Charmin]

最近在申請OPT, 找了一些資料和大家分享~

1.New rule of OPT
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1207334008610.shtm
- 可延長 STEM 科系的 OPT 達29個月
- (似乎是所有科系)第一年12個月的OPT不能累計三個月處於沒工作狀態, 否則... put your F1 status jeopardy

2.Look up the CIP code of your degree:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/cip2000
學位的名稱即I-20上面的名稱

3.List of STEM degrees:
http://www.ice.gov/sevis/stemlist.htm

[Jason Lee]

Thank you for you hard work. However, this new rule is ultimately completely useless for most people here assuming most people here are business students. As a matter of fact, now MBA students only have 3 months to search for jobs after their OPT starts. To make it worse, most fortune 500 companies are now refrained to sponsor work VISAs since there are uncertainties that their hires would ultimately be able to work for them. In additional to the current US economy, it is really hard to make US dollars after your US MBA degrees. May God bless MBA Class of 2008!

[bailey]

Please read the original document carefully - Extending Period of Optional Practical Training by 17-Months for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students with STEM Degrees and Expanding CapGap Relief for All F-1 Students with Pending H-1B Petitions

This means Class 2007 would benefit from this interim rule. As long as your H1b application is selected via lottery, you not only secure the working visa (hopefully, it gets approved). You are also allowed to extended the OPT until h1b validates. (Oct 1)

For Class 2008, we don't know:

- if the cap would be increased after the election
- if this interim rule still in force
- the employers' willingness to sponsor as well as the other h1b applicants' willingness to pursue the career in the States
- and of course, the economy

Good luck Class 2008! :) If the door to Fortune 500 closes, there are non-Fortune 500. There are great opportunities in another countries, you never know!

Best,
bailey



Questions and Answers: Extension of Optional Practical Training Program for Qualified Students

Regulations Relating to Practical Training:

What is optional practical training?

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major area of study. Under the prior rules, an F-1 student could be authorized to receive up to a total of 12 months of practical training either before (pre-) and/or after (post-) completion of studies.

* Pre-completion OPT:

An F-1 student may be authorized to participate in pre-completion OPT after he or she has been enrolled for one full academic year. The pre-completion OPT must be directly related to the student’s major area of study. Students authorized to participate in pre-completion OPT must work part-time while school is in session. They may work full time when school is not in session.

* Post-completion OPT:

An F-1 student may be authorized to participate in post-completion OPT upon completion of studies. The post-completion OPT must be directly related to the student’s major area of study.


What is the application process to participate in pre- or post-completion OPT?

* Students must initiate the process by requesting the Designated School Official (DSO) at their academic institution to recommend the OPT. The DSO makes such recommendation by endorsing the student’s Form I-20 and by making appropriate notation in SEVIS, the system used to track F-1 students.
* Students then file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization Document (EAD), with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If approved, USCIS will issue an EAD to the student.
* The student may begin engaging in pre- or post-completion OPT only after an application has been approved and an EAD has been issued.


How many students stand to benefit from this interim final rule?

ICE records indicate that there are approximately 70,000 students currently in OPT and, of those, about 23,000 are studying in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) fields. Some of these students will be selected for an H-1B to start in October 2008. Others may choose to continue their education, while some will depart the United States. ICE and USCIS estimate that approximately 12,000 will take advantage of the STEM extension.


What is the maximum duration of post-completion OPT under this interim final rule?

Under the new rule, certain students will be eligible to receive a 17-month extension of post-completion OPT.


Do the periods of pre-completion OPT count against the available periods of post-completion OPT?

Yes. All periods of pre-completion OPT are deducted from the available periods of post-completion OPT.


Are there fees associated with filing for extended OPT?

Yes. USCIS charges $340 when an applicant files a Form I-765 for optional practical training.



When must a student apply for an OPT extension?

* Under the prior regulations, F-1 students had to apply for post-completion OPT prior to graduation.
* This rule allows F-1 students seeking initial post-completion OPT to apply during their 60-day departure preparation periods in the same way that they are allowed to apply for a change to H-1B status during their departure preparation periods.
* Students may apply for an OPT extension at any time prior to the expiration date of their current OPT period.


Is there additional post-completion OPT available to students working in the high-tech industry?

* F-1 students who receive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees included on the STEM Designated Degree Program List, are employed by employers enrolled in E-Verify, and who have received an initial grant of post-completion OPT related to such a degree, may apply for a 17-month extension.
* This extension of the OPT period for STEM degree holders gives U.S. employers two chances to recruit these highly desirable graduates through the H-1B process, as the extension is long enough to allow for H-1B petitions to be filed in two successive fiscal years.


What are the eligible STEM degrees?

* To be eligible for the 17-month OPT extension, a student must have received a degree included in the STEM Designated Degree Program List. This list sets forth eligible courses of study according to Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
* The STEM Designated Degree Program List includes the following courses of study:

o Computer Science Applications


o Biological and Biomedical Sciences

o Actuarial Science


o Mathematics and Statistics

o Engineering


o Military Technologies

o Engineering Technologies


o Physical Sciences

o Science Technologies


o Medical Scientist

* The STEM degree list is included in the preamble to the interim final rule and will be posted on the ICE website.
* Note that to be eligible for an OPT extension the student must currently be in an approved post-completion OPT period based on a designated STEM degree. Thus, for example, a student with an undergraduate degree in a designated STEM field, but currently in OPT based on a subsequent MBA degree, would not be eligible for an OPT extension.


What are the eligibility requirements for the 17-month extension of post-completion OPT?

* The student must have a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree included in the STEM Designated Degree Program List.
* The student must currently be in an approved post-completion OPT period based on a designated STEM degree.
* The student’s employer must be enrolled in E-Verify.
* The student must apply on time (i.e., before the current post-completion OPT expires).


What is the E-Verify program?

* The E-Verify program is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA).
* The E-Verify program currently is the best means available for employers to determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security Numbers.
* E-Verify electronically compares information contained on the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 with records contained in SSA and DHS databases to help employers verify identity and employment eligibility of newly-hired employees.


Is there a cost associated with employers participating in the E-Verify program?

* No. E-Verify is a free, easy-to-use web-based system available to employers and in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


What is the application process for the 17-month STEM extension?

* The student files Form I-765 with USCIS, Form I-20 endorsed by the DSO, a copy of the STEM degree, and the required application fee.
* Form I-765 is being amended to require the student to indicate the degree and provide the employer’s E-Verify information.
* If their post-completion OPT expires while the 17-month extension application is pending, students who timely filed their STEM extension applications with USCIS will receive an extension of employment authorization after their current employment authorization expires, but for no more than 180 days.


What must a student do after being granted the 17-month STEM extension?

* The student must report to his or her DSO (within 10 days) any change in:

* Legal name;
* o Residential or mailing address;
* o E-mail address;
* o Employer name;
* o Employer address;

* The student must also report to his or her DSO every six months, confirming the information listed above; even if there have been no changes.
* The requirement to report continues if the student’s 17-month STEM extension is extended further by the automatic cap-gap extension.


Regulations Relating to F-1/H-1B Cap-Gap:


What is the H-1B cap?

The cap is the congressionally-mandated limit on the number of individuals who may be granted H-1B status during each fiscal year. For FY08, the cap is 65,000, with certain statutory cap exemptions.


What is the F-1/H-1B “cap-gap”?

Cap-gap occurs when an F-1 student’s status and work authorization expire in the current fiscal year before they can start their approved H-1B employment in the next fiscal year beginning on October 1. An F-1 student in a cap-gap situation would, in most cases, have to leave the United States and return at the time his or her H-1B status becomes effective at the beginning of the next fiscal year. Depending on when the student’s status expires, such circumstances could require the student to remain outside the United States for several months.


How does cap-gap occur?

* Under the prior regulation (and unchanged by this rule), an employer may not file, and USCIS may not accept, an H-1B petition submitted earlier than six months in advance of the date of actual need for the beneficiary’s services or training.
* As a result, the earliest date that an employer can file an H-1B petition for consideration under the next fiscal year cap is April 1, for an October 1 employment start date. If that H-1B petition and the accompanying change-of-status request are approved, the earliest date that the student may start the approved H-1B employment is October 1.
* Consequently, F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions with October 1 employment start dates, but whose periods of authorized stay (including authorized periods of post-completion OPT and the subsequent 60-day departure preparation period) expire before October 1, are in many cases required to leave the United States, apply for an H-1B visa at a consular post abroad, and then seek readmission to the United States in H-1B status.


What were the prior cap-gap regulations for F-1 students?

* The prior regulations addressed the cap-gap problem by authorizing an extension of an F-1 student’s authorized stay, but they did not extend the student’s employment authorization. This extension was not automatic; a notice had to be published in the Federal Register announcing the extension.
* Under the prior regulations, when this Federal Register notice was published, the student’s authorized stay was extended, but not the employment authorization. This meant the student could remain in the United States until October 1, when the approved H-1B employment began, but could not work until then.
* If a Federal Register notice authorizing an extension was not published, affected students would in many cases be required to leave the United States, apply for an H-1B visa, and seek readmission to the United States in H-1B status.


How is the cap-gap situation changed under the interim final rule?

* F-1 academic students on post-completion OPT maintain valid F-1 status until the expiration of their OPT. Once that OPT has ended, they are authorized to remain in the United States for up to 60 days to prepare for departure.
* Under this rule, the F-1 status of students is automatically extended when the student is the beneficiary of an H-1B petition for the next fiscal year (with an October 1 employment start date) filed on his or her behalf during the period in which H-1B petitions are accepted for that fiscal year.
* The automatic extension terminates when USCIS rejects, denies, or revokes the H-1B petition.
* If the H-1B petition filed on behalf of the student is selected, the student may remain in the United States and, if on post-completion OPT, continue working until the October 1 start date indicated on the approved H-1B petition.
* The student may benefit from this provision only if he or she has not violated his or her status.

[Jason Lee]

My apology Ma’am. I should have read the document more carefully.

Maybe I did not clarify that I was only talking about current or future MBA students. Yes, some class of 2007 students would benefit from this intern regulation if they have already secured jobs and applied for H1b before 4/7.

As for current or future MBA students, they will most likely suffer due to this intern regulation. For those current students who already fund jobs, it very likely that they have applied for H1bs. Hence, the Cap-Cap relief will not applicable to them. For those who have not fund jobs, they will only have 3 months (maybe 5) to secure jobs before they would be out of student status.

We all do hope that the Congress would increase the artificial quota. God bless all H1b applicants.

[bailey]

" For those who have not fund jobs, they will only have 3 months (maybe 5) to secure jobs before they would be out of student status."

I don't understand your statement above. After graduation, anyone can apply for OPT, whether they have job or not. As a F1 visa holder on their OPT, one can attempt to secure a job offer by next April and submit H1b application. This means they have 12 months for job searching. They may have cap-gap issue if the interim rule does not apply to them.

Cap-gap issue is somehow manageable based on the experience. The most crucial part is to communicate with the employers skillfully. Good luck!

[Jason Lee]

I’m guessing someone also needs to read the new reg. more carefully.

This news intern rule which was proposed on 3/31, approved by USCIS on 4/4 and published in Federal register on 4/8 if I am not mistaken. The memo is 48 pages. Two major topics are those two Charmin mentioned. However, the rest of the memo also restated the OPT period for those who are nor working.

According to this new regulation, now, students could only be unemployed for a maximum 90 days (120 days for STEM). Thus, you only have 3 months to find jobs after your OPT starts and potentially you might have 5 months since you can start your OPT two months after you graduation.

Now, whether US companies could hire and use MBA students is totally subject to a computer owned by USCIS. That computer randomly selects who gets to work in the US. The chance being selected for class of 2008 is even less than 45% (assuming they had applied already and used bachelor degrees since they have not received their master degrees). Thus, now most US companies are reluctant to recruit international students because of the uncertainty that whether their recruits could work after their graduations. With the current US economy and the VISA cap issue, it is really hard to find jobs in the US if you had not yet secured one already.

[bailey]

Practically you may request certain documents from school showing that you are advance degree holder.

On Page 22, the new interim rule does specify the maximum period of unemployment during OPT:
An F-1 student who drops out of school or does not pursue a full-time course of study
loses status; an F-1 student with OPT who is unemployed for a significant period should similarly put his status in jeopardy. Therefore, this rule specifies an aggregate maximum allowed period of unemployment of 90 days for students on 12-month OPT.

I would interpret this less strictly, since the employment can be part-time/full-time contract/full-time permanent.

[Jason Lee]

The certain document is called “letter of completion.” However, USCIS is going to look into this and will probably reject most people who use letter of completion this year (unless your letter clearly states what USCIS wants to see).

I only said we need to secure a job within 90 days, and I did not say what kind of job is. Like you mentioned, a job could be any kind as long as you are paid.

The following is from NAFSA website, and it provides more information regarding this new regulation

• Limited Periods of Unemployment to Maintain Status
o During post-completion OPT, F-1 status is dependent upon employment.
o Students may not accrue an aggregate of more than 90 days of unemployment during any post-completion OPT carried out under the initial post-completion OPT authorization.

Source: http://www.nafsa.org/regulatory_informa ... le_updates


So now, is it clear that we do not have 12 months to search for jobs and we only have 3 to 5 months based on this new regulation?

[lpwpete]

This is very interesting topic.

I forwarded this issue to my School, JHU, International Officers, and see how they read this new interin rule from their professional expertise. Next year is my time to apply OPT. Good luck to us!

Thanks.

[bailey]

SEVP has indicated that students whose OPT approval was granted prior to April 8, 2008 will not have periods of unemployment counted against them. Further guidance on this matter is expected from SEVP in the coming days.

http://www.indiana.edu/~intlserv/studen ... nt/opt.php
Those who are interested please dig into the original documents. Thanks!

[lpwpete]

Here is the mail I got from my school response.
It seems very clear that we have to find a job in 60 days after OPT validate. Good luck to us!

Dear F-1 International Students,

**This is extremely important for all F-1 students, including those on this list who are not enrolled in courses but are engaged in post-completion OPT. So, please read the entire document.**

Some of you may have received information or incorrect information from various sources regarding recent changes made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These changes are primarily related to the employment benefit of optional practical training (OPT) that is available for most F-1 students.

The purpose of this email is to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information that we have received from DHS and USCIS. If any changes or additions are made to these new regulations, our office will inform you via email.
So please monitor your email closely.

DHS has published new regulations effective immediately making significant changes to the employment benefit, optional practical training (OPT), for F-1 students. These regulations require additional reporting from students and advisers in the International Services office. Please find below a detailed description of the new provisions.

1) Changes applicable to all F-1 students:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->OPT filing changes-The new regulations allow F-1 students to file OPT applications up to 90 days prior to and no later than 60 days after the published semester end date (the official date published on the school’s website or in the catalog) in the student’s final semester. (For example, if you will complete all degree requirements by the end of the Summer 2008 semester [August 23, 2008], then you would be able to apply for post-completion OPT from May 23, 2008-October 23, 2008.)

Periods of unemployment – An F-1 student on OPT cannot be unemployed for a total of more than 90 days during the period of approved OPT. For students who started post-completion OPT prior to April 8, 2008, time unemployed prior to April 8, 2008 will not be counted. After April 8, 2008, all days of unemployment will be counted for any F-1 student on approved OPT. For all students approved after April 8, please note that you do not count the time that you are awaiting your approval for OPT, which sometimes can take up to 3 months. You only begin counting unemployed days from the OPT start date on your EAD card.
Definition of “unemployed”- Each day during the period when OPT authorization begins and ends that you do not have qualifying employment counts as a day of unemployment. The only exception is that periods of up to 10 days between the end of one job and the beginning of the next job will not be included in the calculation for time spent unemployed.
Effect on your F-1 status if you exceed the 90 days of unemployment-If you exceed the period of unemployment while on post-completion OPT, you have violated your status unless you have taken one of the following actions:
Applied to continue your education by a change of level or transferred to another SEVP-certified school
Departed the United States
Taken action to otherwise maintain legal status
More detailed reporting – Students will now be required to report, in addition to changes of name and residential address, the name and location of all employers, and any interruption in employment. Students currently on OPT will receive via email within the next week an “OPT Employer Information Sheet” to update. You will receive this from Jenn Smith. Please follow all instructions and return to her by the deadline posted on the form. It is extremely important that you complete the form accurately and by the deadline as we are required now to report this information to the USCIS by June. If you do not report the requested information to our office, we have to inform the USCIS of that also.

Cap-gap relief – A “cap-gap” occurs when an F-1 student’s status and work authorization (OPT) expires in the current fiscal year before a student can start his/her approved H-1B employment in the next fiscal year beginning on October 1. F-1 students on OPT whose employers have filed and have pending an H-1B petition which requests a change of status from F-1 to H-1B may remain legally in the U.S. and automatically extends their OPT work authorization until the start date requested on the H-1B petition.
Update of OPT Information Sheet-The information sheet will be updated with all changes and posted on the website by May 9, 2008. In the meantime, if you are a student who will be completing your requirements in Summer 2008 and need to apply for OPT, please note that with the new regulations, the earliest you may apply now is May 23, 2008. If you need assistance before the information sheet is posted, please contact our office at onestop.intl@jhu.edu

2) Changes applicable only to MSITS students:

17 month extension of OPT for students who earned degrees in STEM fields:

Some of you have recently heard that some F-1 students on approved OPT will be eligible for a 17 month extension of OPT. This rule has made available to students who earned bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields an additional 17 months of Optional Practical Training. This ruling was designed to help fill the void of scientists and researchers in these 4 areas. Additionally, the USCIS has an official list of all degree programs in the U.S. for which these apply, and there is no room for negotiation of this list with DHS or the USCIS.

Please note that the 17 month extension of OPT only applies to the Master of Science in Information & Telecommunications Systems (MSITS) degree program in the Carey Business School and does not apply to any of the other Carey Business degree programs. Additionally, it does not apply to any of the degree programs in the School of Education.