U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today the expansion of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and wish to request a premium processing upgrade.

Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, is now also available to F-1 students in these categories. USCIS continues to accept the latest paper version of this form by mail. 

“The availability of premium processing for certain F-1 students, in addition to the ease of online filing, will streamline the immigration experience for a great many international students,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “The ongoing expansion of online filing is a priority for USCIS as we continue to create operational efficiencies and increase access to the immigration system for stakeholders, applicants, petitioners, requestors, and those we serve.”  

Premium processing expansion for certain F-1 students will occur in phases, and students requesting premium processing should not file before these dates: 

• Beginning March 6, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for certain F-1 students who already have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, if they are filing under one of the following categories: 
  • (c)(3)(A) – Pre-Completion OPT; 
  • (c)(3)(B) – Post-Completion OPT; and 
  • (c)(3)(C) – 24-Month Extension of OPT for STEM students. 
• Beginning April 3, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for F-1 students in the above categories when filed together with Form I-765. 

USCIS will reject premium processing requests for a pending Form I-765 if received before March 6, and will reject any premium processing request for an initial or concurrently filed Form I-765 that is received before April 3. 

To file Form I-907 online, an applicant must first create a USCIS online account, which provides a convenient and secure method to submit forms, pay fees, and track the status of any pending 

USCIS immigration request throughout the adjudication process. There is no cost to set up a USCIS online account, which offers a variety of features, including the ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox and respond to Requests for Evidence online.  

Applicants who previously filed a paper Form I-765 and wish to file Form I-907 online to request premium processing should reference the USCIS Account Access Notice they received for the Online Access Code and details on how to link their paper-filed cases to their online account, or they will not be able to file Form I-907 online and will need file a paper Form I-907 with the Chicago lockbox. 

The addition of online filing for Form I-907 brings the total number of forms available for online filing to 16. The Forms Available to File Online page has links to file all of these forms. USCIS continues to accept the latest paper versions of all forms by mail. More than 1.8 million applications, petitions and requests were filed online in FY 2022, a 53% increase from the 1.2 million filed in FY 2021. 
 

…Which came as a complete surprise to the business community, particularly at a time when his administration has done nothing but attack legal immigration, making the H-1B application process nearly unbearable for employers since the release of his “Buy American – Hire American” Executive Order. So, what could Trump do if he was ‘really’ interested in high skilled immigration?

Reports are that DHS has begun circulation of one of Obama’s employment-based executive actions which is also in response to a judge’s order that struck down the existing STEM OPT program for a lack of a notice & commenting period with the issuance of the 2008 interim rule.  The public will have 30 days (until November 18) to comment on the proposed rule.  You can view the notice in the Federal Register here

The Rule will make several changes to the F-1 STEM OPT program.  Most importantly, the STEM OPT extensions would increase from 17 to 24 months.

It’s almost that time of year again for H-1B filing season FY 2016 (commencing April 1, 2015), and  it’s not too early for employers to be discussing hiring needs with their management team and assessing where in the organization they wish to sponsor H-1B professionals, and identifying  potential candidates that they may want to sponsor for H-1B status. This could include, for example, recent graduates employed pursuant to F-1 Optional Practical Training, foreign nationals in TN status that the company may wish to sponsor for permanent residence, and candidates in L-1 status working for other employers or in some other non-immigrant classification who would need to change their status to H-1B in order to extend their stay and accept new employment.

The H-1B job offer and the job description must be for a specialty occupation that requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent.

What is the definition of a specialty occupation? A specialty occupation requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge along with at least a bachelor’s degree or its US equivalent.  For example, architecture, engineering, IT, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, and the arts are considered specialty occupations.

Small to medium-size companies are frequently asked to justify why the position  requires someone with a bachelor’s degree and to explain, through various types of evidence including organizational charts, examples of work being produced, the education of previous employees in the position, etc., why their business is more unique than other similar businesses in their industry that they would require a candidate with a bachelor’s degree in a particular position.

Bachelor’s Degree equivalency can be attained through a single-source foreign degree that meets US standards, a combination of a degree and work experience, or a work experience alone equivalency that meets the “3 for 1” rule; namely, that 3 years of work experience is equivalent to 1 year of university level education (this requires an expert credential evaluation by a service or university that is authorized to evaluate work experience for degree equivalency).

Note: Bear in mind that if you have a skilled immigration professional that has a strategy in place for their green-card sponsorship (permanent residency), it is essential that the degree and its equivalency be carefully reviewed so that it will be compatible with the classification under which they will file their labor certification, the first step in the green-card process.

USCIS now requires very detailed job descriptions for H-1B visa petitions that contain the position summary, duties and responsibilities, as well as the percentage allocation spent on each job duty. It is hard to imagine that a job description with a 15-bullet point list of duties and a full page in length is insufficient, but when you work with a skilled immigration practitioner, this can be successfully argued against the O*NET occupational classification system and the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is the primary source of job information for USCIS and the Department of Labor.

In summary: Employers need to be prepared with complete job descriptions for their H-1B prospective employees and document the need for a degreed professional thoroughly in their casework.

Discuss your H-1B requirements as well as any other business immigration matters by contacting us at info@immigrationcompliancegroup.com, or call 562 612.3996.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week announced a series of administrative reforms to help attract new businesses and new investment to the U.S. and ensure that the U.S. has the most skilled workforce in the world. These reforms are to take place over a period of time.

Leaders in the private sector launched the Startup America Partnership, an independent alliance of entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders, joining together to fuel innovative, high-growth U.S. start-ups. Within just one year, the Partnership has mobilized to make over $1 billion in business services available to a national network that will serve as many as 100,000 start-ups over the next three years.

For more on this: http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/business/startup-america

8.1. Eligibility
8.1.1. Who is eligible for the STEM extension?

F-1 students who completed a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in a STEM field and are currently engaged in post-completion OPT may apply for the STEM extension if they have a job or job offer from an E-Verify employer.
8.1.2. Is the extension available to students who completed their post-completion OPT prior to April 8, 2008?

No. The eligibility is not retroactive.
8.1.3. How does a student or DSO know which degrees are designated as STEM degrees?

Read more about the 17 month extension here

AILA recently posted an article on Curricular Practical Training (CPT) functioning as employment that is part of a student’s specified degree curriculum.  

It was posted in “AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 08091769 (posted Sep. 17, 2008)“

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is employment that is part of a student’s specified degree curriculum. The Designated School Official (DSO) authorizes CPT for students before they can begin wok by annotating their I-20 in accordance with the 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i). Unlike Optional Practical Training (OPT), no employment authorization from USCIS is needed. This raises two questions, which were posed to DHS by AILA’s E-Verify Liaison Committee. DHS’ responses are below:

1. Is an E-Verify employer required to put CPT students through the E-Verify system?

Answer: “Yes, an employer must run E-Verify queries on CPT students.”

2. If yes, is the E-Verify system capable of automatically checking the student’s I-20 to produce an automatic confirmation of employment eligibility?

Answer: “No, the system cannot automatically check a student’s I-20. E-Verify does not currently access SEVIS during the automated first step of the verification process. Students under CPT will always be sent to secondary verification. He or she should, however, have employment eligibility confirmed within 24 hours provided his/her record can be located in SEVIS during secondary verification.”