USCIS, Aug. 27, 2024 "We are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding when students may be eligible for optional practical training (OPT) extensions for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. This guidance, found in...
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - "This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is amending the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List by adding eight qualifying fields of study and a corresponding...
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 244 / Thursday, December 21, 2023 SUMMARY: The Department of Labor’s (Department or DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is considering revisions to Schedule A of the permanent labor certification process to...
Susan D’Agostino, Inside Higher Ed, November 29, 2022 "Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expanded opportunities for international students who have earned U.S. degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to extend...
Bender's Immigration Bulletin Editorial Board Member Cyrus D. Mehta has two new blog posts online: Expansion of STEM Practical Training and Broadening of O-1A Standards Allows Foreign Talented Students to Contribute to the US Even If Rejected in the H-1B...
Nadia Dreid, Law360, Jan. 21, 2022 "The Biden administration has implemented a pair of changes aimed at making it easier for international students in the STEM field to stay and work in the U.S. after graduation by widening the net of careers that fall into...
Karin Fischer, Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar. 3, 2021 "The new immigration bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, would provide legal protections to Dreamers and make it easier for international STEM Ph.D.s to stay in the United States after graduation...
NFAP, Mar. 5, 2019 "New research from a former Federal Reserve Bank economist finds no evidence that foreign students participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) reduce job opportunities for U.S. workers, according to a new report released by the...
Liz Robbins, New York Times, Mar. 9, 2016 - "The federal government will publish the rule on Friday, saying that international students earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields in the United States will now be eligible to...
Karin Fischer, Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. 20, 2016 - "Thousands of foreign students could be forced to leave the United States if a challenge to an obscure federal program is not resolved in the next few weeks. The program, Optional Practical Training...
NYT, Nov. 1, 2015 - "In a letter supporting the Senate bill , 14 associations representing thousands of higher education institutions described an urgent need: “According to projections, the United States will face a shortfall of more than 200,000 advanced...
"Senator Grassley’s latest angry missive to the DHS protests the proposed increase of F-1 student Optional Practical Training (OPT), which was part of President Obama’s executive actions of November 20, 2014. While the Senator’s rant against any beneficial...
"A string of recent O-1 RFEs [Requests for Evidence], and NOIDs [Notices of Intent to Deny] from the USCIS California Service Center reveal a new disturbing trend. The best and brightest, including the very STEM PhDs to whom the Senate and much of the House...
"Encouraging bright minds to stay in the United States after graduation, grow businesses and create jobs is critical to secure our country’s position as a high-tech hub and global leader in innovation. It’s also important to our national security. Recently...
"Reforming a broken system, which includes legalizing the 10 million plus undocumented immigrants in the US, as well as providing quicker and more sensible pathways to legal status, could unleash even greater wealth. Immigrants of all stripes are essentially...