OPT

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5 hours ago, sateeshm said:

OPT new rule meda correct ga infomation telisinavllu info ivandi

[Rocky143]

5 minutes ago, jagan_item said:

[BARFl]

Dear All,

Recently, DHS published final rule allowing certain F-1 students – STEM degrees and who meet other specified requirements to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT.  The extension for 24 month STEM OPT extension may be applied effective May 10, 2016.
 
Eligibility Requirements for students to apply for STEM OPT Extension:
 
1.       Currently be in a valid period of OPT
2.       Holds Bachelors or masters or doctoral degree from school in US accredited by US Dept. of education – recognized accrediting agency and certified by SEVP when submitting application for STEM OPT Ext
3.       Currently if you are an F-1 student in a 12 month OPT period of post completion based on NON STTEM degree, you may still be eligible to use a prior STEM degree earned from US to apply for STEM OPT ext.  Limitation is that both the degrees must be from currently accredited and SEVP certified institution and must not have received a STEM OPT extension based on this prior degree
4.       If you enroll in new program and earn another qualifying STEM degree at a higher level than the previous one, you may be eligible for additional 24 month STEM OPT – What it means?
For example: If you receive a 24-month STEM OPT extension based on your bachelor’s degree in engineering and you later earn a master’s degree in engineering, you may apply for an additional 24-month STEM OPT extension based on your master’s degree
5.       Submit I-765 up to 90 days before the expiry of the current OPT, and within 60 days of the date your school DSO enters the recommendation for OPY into your SEVP record
 
Reporting Requirements for Students to follow:
 
If you receive a STEM OPT extension, you must self-evaluate in Form I-983 every six months:

Report changes to your DSO within 10 days of the change. You must report changes to:
Your legal name
Your residential or mailing address
Your email address
Your employer’s name
Your employer’s address
Report to your DSO every 6 months to confirm the information listed above, even if none of your information has changed duly signed by employer.
 
Unemployment period during the OPT period:
 
The law allows you to be unemployed during your OPT period for a limited number of days.

If you received…

You may be unemployed for…

For a total of…

(during the OPT period)

Initial post-completion OPT only

Up to 90 days

90 days

17-month extension

An additional 30 days

120 days*

24-month extension

An additional 60 days

150 days*

 

*If you are granted an additional 7-month extension in addition to your 17-month STEM-OPT (for a total of 24-month STEM OPT extension) then you may be unemployed for a total of 150-days during the OPT period.

EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND REPORTING FORMALITIES:
 
1.       Continue to be in a good standing as an E-verify employer
2.       Report material changes to the STEM OPT employment students status to DSO within 2-5 business days
3.       Termination/Resignation/No show up by the employee – Material Changes – DSO to be notified within 2-5 business days
4.       Make sure that the company has implemented a formal training program to augment the student’s learning through practical experience – supposed to be progressive
5.       Duties, hours of work, and compensation or wages must commensurate with similarly situated US workers – kind of specialty occupation requirements
6.       Follow employer -employee relationship formalities as required for H1B
7.       No more volunteering services available
8.       Regular OPT as of today volunteer service available not sure how long
9.       Maintenance of employer-employee relationship and how the training program is implemented and followed will be scrutinized by USCIS  by doing site visits on a 48 hour advance notice
10.   Make sure proper training program and implementation policy is in place with proper documentation for each employee
11.   To determine adequate compensation based on experience and qualification, ONet library can be the best source and FLC Datacenter
12.   Small consulting companies or the startup companies have the option to offer the stock options equal to the compensation received by the similarly situated US workers
13.   Assign a well-qualified person for the training purpose having knowledge and qualification sufficient to impart training to others
14.   Business card with details of the point of contact person name, phone no, designation and email id to be provided
15.   Audit may be conducted by FDNS and USCIS officer for FORM I-983 compliance of attestations made by the employer
16.   Complete form I-983, Training Plan for STEM OPT students.
 
Attestation requirements by employer in Form I-983:
You have enough resources and trained personnel available to appropriately train the student;
The student will not replace a full- or part-time, temporary or permanent U.S. worker; and
Working for you will help the student attain his or her training objectives.