International Student and Scholar Services
News and Monthly Newsletters
Latest News from OIP
- USCIS to Allow F-1 Students Opportunity to Request Change of Status
- Changes to Optional Practical Training for All F-1 Students
- “Cap Gap” Relief for OPT – H-1B Transitions
- 17-Month Extension of Post-Completion OPT for Specialized Group of F-1 Students
- USCIS Reaches FY 2009 H-1B Cap
- New DHS Reporting Requirements for Post-Completion OPT
April 21, 2008
USCIS to Allow F-1 Students Opportunity to Request Change of Status
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it would allow F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of selected H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to request a change of status in lieu of consular notification. For more information, please see: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.
April 11, 2008
Changes to Optional Practical Training for All F-1 Students
Limited Periods of Unemployment
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now indicated that any student on post-completion OPT who is unemployed for a total of more than 90 days during the employment period may be considered out of status.
Application Filing Window
DHS has also stated that they will accept post-completion OPT applications no earlier than 90 days prior to the program end date and no later than 60 days after the program end date.
Reporting Requirements
Throughout the OPT period, students must submit employment information to OIP via the Online Address Update Form or via email to their IS Advisor. Students are now required to submit employer name and address each time they accept a position and to report any periods of unemployment.
“Cap Gap” Relief for OPT – H-1B Transitions
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released an interim final rule automatically extending both the status and the employment authorization of all F-1 students who are currently approved for OPT and have cap-subject H-1B petitions pending with USCIS.
If your OPT was still valid when when your employer filed a cap-subject petition during the first week of April 2008, you may be eligible to continue working under the "Cap Gap" regulation. Students whose petitions were filed during the 60-day grace period will not be eligible to resume work at this time, but may be eligible to remain in the United States until October 1st if the H-1B petition is approved. Students in either situation are encouraged to contact their IS Advsior so that she may confirm eligibility for "Cap Gap" relief and outline the procedures for documenting subsequent work permission.
Students who remain in the United States under the "Cap Gap" regulation remain in F-1 status and must continue to report address changes and employment information to the Office of International Programs (OIP) via email to an IS Advisor or via the Online Address Update Form on the OIP website.
The text of the rule expanding "Cap Gap" relief for F-1 students with pending H-1B petitions is available online.
17-month Extension of Post-Completion OPT for Specialized Group of F-1 Students
DHS has released an interim final rule allowing F-1 students who have received specialized degrees in certain science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to apply for an additional 17-month period of OPT. Graduates in qualifying fields who are currently engaged in OPT are eligible to apply if they are employed by, or have accepted employment with, an employer enrolled in the E-Verify employment verification program.
Eligible Georgetown degrees include:
| Biotechnology | Biochemistry | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology |
| Biology | Biostatistics | Computer Science |
| Cell Biology | Chemistry | Microbiology |
| Mathematics | Mathematics & Statistics | Physiology |
| Pharmacology | Physics | |
Application Procedures
Eligible STEM graduates should contact their IS Advisor for more information on application procedures.
Maintaining Status during a STEM Extension
Students granted a 17-month OPT extension are responsible for the ongoing reporting of the following information via the Online Address Update Form or via email to their IS Advisor:
- Legal name
- Residential or mailing address
- Employer name
- Employer address
- Any loss of employment
- Employers of STEM degree holders must report to OIP within 48 hours after the student leaves employment with that employer.
Additional Reporting Requirement – Verification Every Six Months
In addition to reporting any change in the information listed above, students granted a STEM extension must also contact OIP every six months to confirm the accuracy of this information, even if there are no changes to report.
Limited Period of Unemployment for STEM Extensions
Any student granted a STEM extension who is unemployed for a total of more than 120 days during the 29-month OPT period may be considered out of status.
To view the interim final rule, see: www.dhs.gov
April 10, 2008
USCIS Reaches FY 2009 H-1B Cap
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2009. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the "advanced degree" exemption. Before running the random selection process, USCIS will complete initial data entry for all filings received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the precise day on which it will conduct the random selection process.
USCIS will carry out the computer-generated random selection process for all cap-subject petitions received. USCIS will select the number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the “advanced degree” exemption limit. USCIS will reject, and return filing fees for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, unless found to be a duplicate. USCIS will handle duplicate filings in accordance with the interim final rule published on March 24, 2008 in the Federal Register.
The agency will conduct the selection process for “advanced degree” exemption petitions first. All “advanced degree” petitions not selected will be part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.
April 10, 2008
New DHS Reporting Requirements for Post-Completion OPT
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will now require Georgetown University to confirm the accuracy of certain information in SEVIS for all students currently engaged in Optional Practical Training (OPT).
U.S. Federal Regulations continue to require an F-1 student employed on OPT to report any address change within 10 days directly to the Office of International Programs (OIP). DHS now requires OIP to also report employer information to SEVIS. Therefore, an F-1 student on post-completion OPT must report this information to OIP.
A student engaged in post-completion OPT must review the information below and accurately report his/her situation via our Online Address Update Form or via email to an IS Advisor, providing the necessary information about his/her employer or lack of current employment.
Situation | Information |
Employed by one employer | Provide your employer’s name and address |
Multiple employers | List all employer’s names and addresses, indicate which employer is your primary employer |
Not currently employed | Indicate “none” for the employer |
This reporting responsibility is an ON-GOING REQUIREMENT. Failure to submit accurate address and employment information throughout the post-completion OPT period may result in the loss of your F-1 status. As indicated above, you are also required to report any periods of unemployment. Please note: any student who is unemployed for a total of more than 90 days during post-completion OPT may be considered out of status.
