If you didn't find what you were looking for, try a new search!
On November 17, 2016, USCIS released the final version of this rule. On December 31, 2015 USCIS released a draft of the proposed and long-awaited rule seeking to improve certain aspects of the employment-based [...]
Many of our readers are aware that as of April 7, 2015, USCIS had received a sufficient number of H-1B cap-subject petitions to fill the annual H-1B quota. This year's number of filings (233,000) is at an all-time high, meaning that about 1 in 3 H-1B cap applications will be selected for review. As USCIS [...]
Spring and early summer are generally busy period for recent foreign college graduates as far as employment immigration is concerned. On one hand, foreign college graduates are either applying for their initial term OPT, their 17-month STEM extensions (if they qualify) or their H-1B work visas under the H-1B cap. Our office fields many questions [...]
Our office had received a number of inquiries and we have worked with a number of individuals, universities and their DSOs who had seen a spike in OPT extension (STEM OPT extensions, most often) which were denied by USCIS due to the fact that the F-1 holder had engaged in volunteering or unpaid work during [...]
The immigration system provides a unique set of hurdles to foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and new companies that are looking to utilize the services of foreign nationals. This FREE Webinar program will focus on the different types of work visas and green cards that are available to foreign entrepreneurs. This seminar will cover immigration options for [...]
In the past, USCIS had been somewhat flexible with student status and filing for employment optional practical training work authorization (OPT). More recently, USCIS has been closing those gaps and enforcing the eligibility requirements and filing deadlines more strictly. With this more stringent and literal implementation of the rules, it is imperative that foreign students, [...]
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced on May 11, 2012, that they have expanded the list of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) degree programs. New STEM-Designated Programs Until this revision, CIP degree codes ending in "99" were not designated as STEM degree programs. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now proposing [...]
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that they have expanded the list of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) degree programs. The expanded list includes fields such as Neuroscience, Medical Informatics, Pharmaceutics and Drug Design, Mathematics and Computer Science. See the updated list of all STEM degree programs. New STEM-Designated Programs The new [...]
Late spring and early summer are generally busy period for recent foreign college graduates as far as employment immigration is concerned. On one hand, foreign college graduates are either applying for their initial term OPT, their 17-month STEM extensions (if they qualify) or their H-1B work visas. Our office fields many questions from prospective or [...]
The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows foreign students on F-1 visa to work for 12 (or up to 29 months, for holders of STEM degrees). The 12 (or 29) month period allows many students to apply for an H-1B work visa. Many employers (and OPT holders alike) are unaware of what happens when the [...]
