USCIS ANNOUNCES NEW RULE ALLOWING EXTENION OF OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR QUALIFIED STUDENTS

Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major field of study and is valid for up to 12 months.  Under the new rule, certain students will be eligible to receive an additional 17 month extension of post-completion OPT.  In order to be eligible to the 17 month OPT extension, a student must have received a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). Further, their employer must be enrolled in E-Verify program, an internet-based system operated by USCIS in partnership with Social Security Administration to determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.  This new rule entitles these students a maximum of 29 months of post-completion OPT and gives U.S. businesses two chances to recruit these highly desirable graduates through the H-1B process.

Further, the new rule addresses the “cap-gap” problem where OPT ends before H-1B time begins on October 1^st.  Unlike in the past, the new rule automatically extends the authorized period of stay and employment authorization of any F-1 student who is the beneficiary of a timely-filed change of status H-1B petition that has either still pending or granted by USCIS.  The automatic extension of F-1 status and employment authorization immediately terminates upon rejection, denial or revocation of the H-1B petition.