Over the past several months, international students in F-1 status have experienced heightened scrutiny. Increasing numbers of reports indicate that students are facing visa revocations and the termination of their records in...more
An F-1 Visa (Academic Student) allows a person to enter the United States as a full-time student. Many F-1 students want to work since U.S. college and university programs can be expensive — particularly for foreign students....more
Earlier this week, on January 26, 2021, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) rescinded its intention, announced less than two weeks earlier, to develop an OPT Employment Compliance Unit. Immigration and Customs...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the arrest of 15 individuals who claimed to work on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for nonexistent companies. In addition, USCIS notified 700 OPT recipients suspected...more
The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows F-1 students to work for 12 months after graduation (in most situations). F-1 students with U.S. degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM degrees) may...more
Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent a message dated February 14, 2020 (but released in advance) to advise employers on how to prepare for its site visits to assure compliance with the STEM optional practical training...more
Employers, beware. It has been reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has recently begun random onsite inspections of STEM OPT employment. Reports are that ICE, during its inspections, has questioned employers...more
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) latest compliance activity involves site visits of those employers who employ F-1 nonimmigrant students under STEM Optional Practical Training (“STEM OPT”) work...more
USCIS Will Accept Only New Employment-Based and Adjustment of Status Application Forms as of October 15, 2019 - On October 8, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that will no longer accept...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has instituted a new compliance activity which could surprise the unprepared employer who has hired a recent graduate on Optional Practical Training (OPT). The site visits are...more
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced changes to student’s access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Instead of allowing students access to their portal accounts indefinitely, in the...more
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP is pleased to provide you with the Compliance News Flash, which includes current news briefs relevant to background screening, immigration and data privacy, for the benefit and interest of our...more
There have been an increasing number of reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun conducting workplace site visits for F-1 students employed pursuant to optional practical training (OPT) in the science,...more
US companies that employ foreign students in F-1 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Optional Practical Training (OPT) status should be aware of a recently announced practice by Immigration and Customs...more
The 2016 STEM regulations made it more difficult for staffing agencies and consulting companies to sponsor graduating F-1 OPT employees for the two-year STEM OPT extension. According to the regulations, the training plan must...more
On January 20, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Because immigration was a pivotal issue in his presidential campaign, many foreign nationals and employers are...more
I. DOS Announces 2018 Diversity Lottery - The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) just released its instructions for the DV-2018 Diversity Visa (DV-2018) lottery. The registration period begins on Tuesday, October 4,...more
The new STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) regulation extends the practical training for F-1 students with qualifying degrees from 17 months to 24 months. It also introduces an employer requirement to complete a training...more
As of May 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expanded the time period during which a foreign student with a degree from a U.S. university in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field may...more
Both F-1 students and employers have been following the litigation over the F-1 OPT (optional practical training) program. The government was sued by tech workers in Washington, D.C. regarding a part of this program, the...more
Effective May 29, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security will amend its regulations under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The change will (1) eliminate existing limits on the maximum number of designated...more
The following important highlights resulted from the November meeting between the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee, USCIS’s Verification Division, and ICE’s Homeland...more
As a part of President Obama’s recent announcement regarding his executive action on immigration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson issued several memoranda to the directors of US Citizenship and...more