Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows certain graduating F-1 students to obtain twelve months of employment in areas related to their academic field of study. The STEM OPT extension allows an F-1 student to extend his or her OPT employment for an additional 17 months if the student’s F-1 program degree was in an appropriate Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field, and if the student has a job or job offer from an employer registered in the USCIS’s E-verify program.
On August 12, 2015, the US District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Department of Homeland Security’s 2008 interim final rule implementing the 17-month OPT STEM extension was invalid, because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented the rule without proper notice and comment. (Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. DHS). However, the court also found that vacating the rule immediately would cause substantial hardship for both F-1 students on STEM OPT extensions and US employers in the technology sector. Therefore, the court ordered that the 2008 interim final rule not be vacated until February 12, 2016, and that during this time, DHS may choose to submit the rule for proper notice and comment.
Graham Adair will provide updates as they become available. Should you have questions, please contact your assigned attorney or paralegal.
– By Dena Neese