Under the new rules that went in effect on May 10, 2016, all students seeking STEM extensions for additional OPT time must have a training plan that is developed by them and their employer. Below are some important points to keep in mind about the new training plan requirement 1. Plan is Collaborative in
For immigrants, it can sometimes be tough looking for a job, as there are employers who are simply not interested in hiring people on temporary visas. For employer, it can be difficult to know what you can and cannot ask about someones immigration status without running afoul of discrimination laws. Recently the Office of
There are two relevant updates to discuss. First, in terms of the STEM OPT court fight, the District Court this week dismissed the action against USCIS for the STEM OPT rules. The Court found that USCIS had fixed the necessary issues and did not agree that USCIS overstepped its bounds with OPT. However, it is
With the publishing of the new STEP OPT rule just last month, many thought that this could be the end of the lawsuit brought against USCIS over this issue. The Court overseeing this case found that USCIS had violated procedures surrounding the rule making of that last OPT extension, which lead to USCIS redoing the
USCIS has just submitted a proposal to amend and add to its regulations regarding highly skilled worker. Below is a summary of the provisions of this proposed rule. Before discussing the proposed rule, however, let me be clear – this is proposed at this point, so it is not currently law. The provisions may or
As we reported previously (see this post), USCIS was sued by a group of individuals who claimed that the STEM OPT extension rules (granting an additional 17 months of OPT) where illegal. The Courts have already found that rule making provisions of Federal Law were not followed and required USCIS to undertake a new rule
There are two updates regarding current legislation that would affect immigration programs. Please note, these are just bills that were introduced but not yet passed. While the content of the bills is worrisome, to say the least, there is no indication at this point that they will actually get enough votes to pass and become law.
On October 19, 2015 USCIS issued a proposed rule regarding STEM OPT extensions for those in F-1 status. If you were not aware, USCIS was sued in Federal Court over the previous rules as there was no formal rule-making on those. The Court gave USCIS until February of 2016 to go through the formal rule