Today at noon Eastern Time, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) closed the annual H-1B registration process. USCIS will now apply random numeric selection processes (“lotteries”) to select registrations, first under the Regular H-1B Cap and then under the U.S. Master’s Cap. USCIS anticipates notifying those selected by March 31, 2021. Petitioners with selected registrations may proceed with filing H-1B petitions […]
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Federal District Court Upholds 2-Year STEM Extension Rule
3 Feb
by Foster LLP, on Immigration Updates, News
On January 28, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the 2016 Optional Practical Training (OPT) regulation that enables graduates of science, technology, engineering, and math degree programs to qualify for an additional two years of OPT work authorization beyond the normal one-year limitation. The court ruled that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had the authority […]
Federal Court Upholds F-1 Student OPT and Stem OPT Work Authorization Rules
2 Dec
by Foster LLP, on Immigration Updates, News
On Monday, November 30, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order that upholds U.S. Department of Homeland Security rules providing F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorization eligibility for F-1 students and 24-month STEM OPT extensions of work authorization for F-1 students who graduated from qualifying STEM degree […]
Stuart Anderson, Forbes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reversed itself by eliminating language from its website aimed at preventing international students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Optional Practical Training (OPT) from working for companies at third-party locations. The USCIS change may have been in response to […]