As part of the Biden Administration’s initiative to retain high-skilled foreign nationals in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it is adding eight new fields as qualifying fields of study...more
The U.S. Department of Education has terminated federal recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as a national accrediting agency. The loss of recognition will affect certain...more
Effective January 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security updated and expanded the list of STEM fields of study falling within the regulatory definition of “STEM field.” The list, known as the “DHS Stem Designated...more
On July 14, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rescinded its July 6, 2020 policy prohibiting F-1 and M-1 students from remaining in the U.S. to...more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 Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has created a STEM Designated Degree Program list, which includes the fields of study that the Department of Homeland Security considers to be science, technology, engineering...more
The USCIS received over 236,000 H-1B petitions during this year’s FY2017 filing period for the annual supply of 85,000 new H-1B visas (65,000 for regular cap plus an additional 20,000 for workers with a U.S. Master’s degree)....more
The U.S. government never gives without getting something in return, and the same is true with the new STEM 24-month, Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program. On March 11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published...more