USCIS quietly made a change to the STEM OPT program earlier this year. Without any formal announcement, the agency published a new restriction on the STEM OPT page of its website stating that employers may employ students under the STEM OPT program only if the employer will provide the practical training experience to the student at its own place of business. This is a sharp departure from previous interpretations of employer-employee relationships permitted under the STEM OPT program.
What this means for our clients:
If you have contractors working at your company under the STEM OPT program and you wish to continue to utilize their services, you must transfer the STEM OPT student to your employ and fill out a new I-983 training plan for the student to submit to their school at the earliest. It is particularly important that the transfer take place sooner rather than later if you have filed an H-1B cap case on the student’s behalf in this year’s H-1B visa lottery.
If you have questions about this, please contact?Sam Adair.?For more frequent updates, please?follow us on?Twitter?(@GrahamAdairLaw).