STEM OPT Rule Extension

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STEM OPT Extension:

Court Grants 90 Day Extension of STEM OPT Rule

 

The US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that the vacatur of the 17-month STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) OPT extension be stayed until May 10, 2016. The Department of Homeland Security motioned for that relief from the court’s order in August 2015. The court had held in August 2015 that the DHS rule granting 17-month extensions on OPT for F-1 visa STEM students was invalid. The rationale was that DHS had promulgated the rule without going through the mandated rule, notice, and comment procedure. At that time, the court decided that vacating the rule granting 17-month extensions would cause substantial hardship for qualifying students and problems for their employers. Therefore, it decided to keep the rule in place until February 12, 2016.

 

The reason that the court has extended the rule for 3 additional months is that 50,500 public comments were received when DHS gave Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The court called this “unexpected and unprecedented.”

 

Many STEM students rely on their OPT time to play the H-1B lottery and increase their chances or to gain invaluable experience related to their field of study before returning to their home countries. The focus on STEM is not exclusive to immigration. Rather it is a trickle-down from a nationwide emphasis on promoting students to enter and succeed in those courses of study.

Visa Waiver Changes

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Visa Waiver Changes May Have Effects for Americans

 

VIsa application form with pen,closeup,for immigration,travel,social issues themes

The Visa Waiver Program has recently undergone some renovations. Fearing that the program could be used to facilitate the travel of personae non grata into the United States, Congress approved changes to the program. Dual nationals and anyone who has traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Sudan in the past five years are no longer allowed to enjoy visa-free travel. The goal is to prevent radicalized people abroad from entering the United States. This has caused issues for journalists, humanitarian workers, government officials, and businesspeople, according to The Guardian.

The fear for Americans traveling abroad is that this will result in restrictions for Americans traveling to European countries. At the present time, an American can travel to the United Kingdom or France without having to obtain a visa.

Visa-free Travel

38 countries, mostly in Europe, enjoy the ability for visa-free travel into the United States. Obtaining a visa, even a visitor’s visa, can be an expensive and time-consuming ordeal. The visa waiver enables nationals of the approved countries to enter the United States for 90 days. The trip must be for visiting purposes. It is a trust system, in which the traveler pledges to adhere to the rules by not overstaying and not straying from the purpose of the visit. On the visa waiver, a traveler cannot attempt to adjust her status a non-immigrant visa once in the United States.

Colbert in the Kitchen

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Colbert in the Kitchen: Stephen Learns How to Cook Indian Food

Stephen Colbert, who is in the first season as host of The Late Show, paid a visit to Yamini Joshi. Colbert went to Ms. Joshi’s kitchen as part of League of Kitchens. The League of Kitchens aims to connect people who are learning how to cook with skilled immigrant cooks of all cuisines. The organization has an educational purpose to share culinary and cultural knowledge because if they are not passed down, they might be lost. Director Lisa Gross explains an adulthood sorrow of not being able to cook Korean food like her grandmother. That feeling of longing launched the idea for League of Kitchens. Someone like Lisa may be bridging the gap to her heritage, or like Stephen, trying his hand at something new out of interest.

Yamini taught Stephen some basics of Indian food. Stephen made the segment delightful and funny with his usual antics, witty remarks, and cultural observations. As Stephen puts, “There are no cultural differences that cannot be bridged by a giant stick of butter” (referring to ghee).

There are two parts.

Part 1

Part 2

USCIS Must Notify Employee and Employer

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Court Rules USCIS Must Notify Employee and New Employer in Revoked Visa Case

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rendered a decision that has meaningful impact for thousands of nonimmigrant employees in the United States. The appellate court ruled that US Citizenship and Immigration Services has to provide notice of its intent to revoke an immigrant visa petition to the employee who will be affected by the potential revocation. For someone who is the beneficiary of an employment-based visa petition, this means that individuals must be provided notice. The ruling declared that USCIS must give notice to all actually affected, which can mean the employee who ported to a new job or the new employer.

The basis for the lawsuit was an employee had submitted an application for a Green Card based on an approved visa petition. Although employment-based visas are dependent on employers, employees are allowed to switch jobs. This can wrangle employers, who have made the investment in the employment-based visa for their employees. The employee changed jobs, USCIS decided to revoke the approved visa petition and it sent notice only to the first employer (who had filed for the visa.). The employee and her new employer did not learn about the revocation until it was too late. USCIS denied the Green Card application the employee filed because of the revoked visa petition. The Service also denied the employee’s attempts to reopen the visa revocation.

There is a jurisdictional issue at play. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals sits in New York and covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. Its decision is not binding nationwide. The American Immigration Council and American Immigration Lawyers Association are advocating for USCIS to adopt the Second Circuit’s logic and decision.

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New Rules for EB-1 Immigrants and H-1B1, E-3, and CW-1 Nonimmigrants

The Department of Homeland Security has published new rules affecting the following groups: EB-1 outstanding professor and research immigrants; H-1B1; E-3, and CW-1 nonimmigrants. The final published rule takes effect February 16, 2016.

H-1B1 and principal E-3 nonimmigrants are authorized for employment incident to their status with a specific employer. That means nonimmigrants in those classes can work for their sponsoring employer without having to obtain an employment card separately.

H-1B1 and principal E-3 nonimmigrants who have expired status while their employer’s timely filed extension of stay request is pending can continue their employment with that employer for 240 days.

DHS is allowing for continued employment authorization for CW-1 nonimmigrants with expired status while their employer’s timely extension request remains pending.

EB-1 outstanding professions and researchers can provide the same types of evidence as the other EB-1 categories.

DHS is trumpeting these rules as enhanced opportunities for employers and highly skilled workers.