January 25, 2016

Current Status of OPT STEM

On December 22, 2015 DHS requested additional time from the District Court to review the 50,000+ comments on the proposed STEM OPT rule and ensure a sufficient time for a final rule to be published with required training of personnel. On January 23rd the District Court approved the stay DHS requested through May 10, 2016. DHS has advised they are anticipating submitting a final rule by March 11, 2016. USCIS has continued to process I-765 applications for STEM OPT as normal and issued EAD work permits with expirations based on the 17 month period available. When there is new information to share, the OIE will include it on the OIE STEM FAQ website.  The OIE encourages students who want to seek legal council to vet the attorney carefully and consider using an attorney associated with AILA by searching the Find and Immigration Lawyer link and reading the FAQ to ensure you properly vet legal council.