ICE leadership emphasized that misuse of the foreign student employment framework is viewed as a compliance and national security concern.
Continue Reading OPT Under Scrutiny: What Increased ICE Enforcement Means for Employers
USCIS Announces Final Phase of Premium Processing Expansion for EB-1 and EB-2 Form I-140 Petitions and Future Expansion for F-1 Students Seeking OPT and Certain Student and Exchange Visitors
On Jan. 12, 2023, USCIS announced its plan to expand premium processing service availability for certain immigrant and non-immigrant benefits in 2023. Beginning Jan. 30, 2023, USCIS will be implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for Form I-140 EB-1C multinational executive classification and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) classification. This new expansion
Senators Urge President Trump to Restrict Guest Worker Programs
On May 7, 2020, four U.S. senators wrote a letter to President Trump, requesting that he suspend “all new guest worker visas” for 60 days, and others for a year “or until unemployment has returned to normal levels.” The requested changes to the guest worker program come amid all-time high unemployment in the United
FY2019 H-1B Cap Met
USCIS announced today, April 6, 2018, that the FY 2019 H-1B cap is now closed because it has received a sufficient number of H‐1B petitions to reach the 65,000 statutory cap as well as the 20,000 advanced degree exemption. The announcement did not provide details about the total number of H-1B petitions filed. USCIS
July 2016 “SEVIS by the Numbers” Report Indicates Growth in the Number of International Students Studying in the United States
This week, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) published its quarterly “SEVIS by the Numbers” report announcing that there are over one million international students in the United States. Many of these students will seek employment with U.S. companies using work authorization granted to them pursuant to their F or M visa status. In
Greenberg Traurig Attorneys Present At Career Issues in Art and Design Conference (CIAD)
Greenberg Traurig attorneys, Kate Kalmykov and Nataliya Rymer, recently presented at the 2016 CIAD Conference hosted at the New School in New York City. Attended by representatives including ISOs and DSOs from over 25 educational institutions across the East Coast, this two day event provided insight on career issues in arts and design. Kalmykov
DHS Set to Publish Final Rule Allowing Further STEM OPT Extensions for Foreign Students
Today DHS released an advanced copy of its final rule allowing foreign students with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to extend their Optional Practical Training (OPT) for an additional 24 months. DHS will publish the final rule in the Federal Register this Friday. The rule will go into effect on May 10.
DHS Granted Extension to May 10, 2016 to Implement New F-1 STEM OPT Program
On Jan. 23, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) additional time–until May 10, 2016–before the court’s vacatur of the 2008, 17-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) STEM Extension rule would go into effect. DHS requested this additional time to review more than 50,000 comments it
DHS Seeks Additional Extension for STEM OPT Rule Beyond Feb. 12, 2016
In August 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia determined that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) improperly promulgated the regulation allowing the 17-month STEM extension for optional practical training (OPT) because the regulation was not subject to notice and comment rulemaking, which requires DHS to consider public comments before making the
Summary: Notice of Proposed Rule for STEM OPT Extension
On October 19, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued the long awaited notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations to allow for an extension of a student’s Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) period for an additional 24 months if the student has met the requirements. The proposed rule is in