[Intl-stu] 17-month OPT Extension and other updates

International Students intl-stu at tamuc.edu
Wed Aug 19 10:28:07 CDT 2015


Hello

Many of you may have heard about the recent court ruling related to the 17-month OPT Extension.  No doubt there have been rumors related to what this means and we would like to provide at least some initial guidance.  In the court case Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the court basically ruled that DHS did not follow proper procedure for public comment among other things with their 2008 rule and subsequent rules.  Below is some basic information:

*         The 2008 rule from DHS granted F-1 international students in STEM majors an additional 17-months of OPT within the U.S. as well as provided other updates or rules related to F-1 international students.

*         The court vacated the 2008 rule but given the fact that this ruling would have tremendous impact on the job market and students, the court has issued a "stay" or delay in the enforcement of this rule until February 2016.

*         DHS has the ability to resolve the issues related to their 2008 rule by the February 2016 deadline.  At this time it is unclear how this ruling will effect certain F visa benefits but many reliable sources has indicated that DHS will have the ability to resolve the issues brought up in the court ruling.

*         This ruling does not mean that the 17-month OPT Extension will be going away but there will most likely be some changes from DHS related to this and other F-1 student benefits.

The Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the entity within DHS that governs F and J student policy, is still allowing F-1 students the ability to file for the 17-month OPT Extension and there will be no interruption in applications or processing by either SEVP or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services which is the entity that processes OPT applications.  Over the next few weeks and months we will be receiving updates from DHS related to their response and ongoing process with the court ruling.

In addition to this recent court ruling, SEVP has also published some draft guidance related to certain F visa rules and policies for public comment.  You may review this information at http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevp-guidance-for-comment.  After the public comment timeframe is complete, SEVP will review all comments and MAY or MAY NOT make the draft guidance effective as new policy or rules.

I have been invited to a meeting in the Dallas area in September where other DFW area international office leadership and our SEVP representative will discuss these changes.  We recognize that students will communicate with other students and there can be a lot of misinformation that is passed around.  If you should have any questions or concerns at any time please contact the ISSS.  SEVP has indicated they will be providing us updates and as we receive information we will forward that to our students.

John Mark Jones, Director
International Student & Scholar Services
Texas A&M University-Commerce
PO Box 3011
Commerce TX 75428
(Ph) 903-886-5097  (F) 903-468-3200
www.tamuc.edu/isso<http://www.tamuc.edu/isso>

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