The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a change to the existing F-1 STEM OPT program that allows for prospective students to apply for a 24-month extension of post-completion OPT, as compared to the previously available 17-month extension.

Eligibility for STEM OPT Extension

In order to qualify for the STEM OPT extension, students must:

• have been granted OPT and currently be in a valid period of OPT
• have earned a bachelor’s master’s or doctoral degree from a school accredited by the U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency and certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).
  • Previously obtained STEM degrees: If you are a student participating in a 12-month program OPT based on a non-STEM degree, you may be able to use a prior STEM degree from an eligible accredited educational institution to apply for the STEM OPT extension. You cannot have already received a prior STEM OPT extension for this degree.
• work for an employer who meets all the requirements listed:
  • Be enrolled in E-Verify and remain in good standing
  • Report material changes to STEM OPT student’s DSO within 5 business days
  • Implement a formal training program to augment the student’s learning through practical experience
  • Provide an OPT opportunity commensurate with those of similarly situated U.S. workers

OPT Students Currently (or Pending) with a 17-month Extension

If you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 months to your STEM OPT period on or after May 10, 2016, as long as you have at least 150 days of valid employment authorization remaining on the date you properly file your new Form I-765. Please note that you must properly file your Form I-765, with fee, on or before August 8, 2016. USCIS will deny applications with less than 150 days of validity remaining and applications filed after August 8, 2016.

We granted a 17-month extension to any STEM OPT extension application approved before May 10, 2016. This included applications in which the student mistakenly requested a 24-month extension before being eligible to do so.

If your application for a 17-month STEM OPT extension was pending on May 10, 2016, USCIS will send you a request for evidence (RFE) to allow you to demonstrate that you are eligible for a 24-month STEM OPT extension.

The Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) Program, effective June 8, 2016, allows certain eligible U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to request parole for their eligible family members.

If approved for parole, your eligible family members will be able to reunite with family members in the United States before their immigrant visas become available and apply for work authorization.

Who is eligible?

You may be eligible to request parole for your qualifying relatives if you meet the following requirements:

• You are either a U.S. citizen or LPR living in the United States;
• You have established that you are either a Filipino WWII veteran (as defined under section 405 of IMMACT90 as amended by Section 112 of Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998,) or are the surviving spouse of such individual;
• You, the Filipino WWII veteran or surviving spouse, filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for a family member and it was approved on or before the date you filed the request for parole; and
• An immigrant visa is not yet available for your relative.

Requirements:

A qualified petitioner can request parole on behalf of a family member (beneficiary) who meets the following criteria:

• The beneficiary (including any accompanying spouse or child*) on a Form I-130 filed by the WWII veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse, and the form was approved on or before the date the petitioner requested parole; and
• The beneficiary has a qualifying, legal relationship with the WWII veteran that existed on or before May 9, 2016.

*The principal principal beneficiary’s spouse and unmarried children under age 21 (known as derivative beneficiaries) may also be eligible for benefits under the FWVP Program. Derivative beneficiaries will only be considered for parole if the principal beneficiary is approved for parole. Derivative beneficiaries are not eligible for the FWVP Program on their own.

If you are the surviving spouse of a Filipino World War II veteran, eligible beneficiaries only include your son or daughter who is also the son or daughter of the Filipino WWII veteran. This includes step-children, legitimated children, children born out of wedlock and adopted children. You may request parole under the FWVP Program on behalf of these individuals, even if the approved Form I-130 on which they are beneficiaries was filed by the deceased veteran, as long as that Form I-130 was reinstated or, if pending at the time of the petitioner’s death, was subsequently approved by USCIS.

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Honduras or Nicaragua) for an additional 18 months, effective July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.

The 18-month extension allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Those who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of Jan. 5, 2018.

USCIS recognizes that some re-registrants may not receive their new EAD until after their current work permits expire. Therefore, they  are automatically extending current TPS Honduras and Nicaragua EADs with a July 5, 2016 expiration date for six months. These existing EADs are now valid through Jan. 5, 2017.

Re-registering for TPS:

To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit:

• Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee);
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD;
• The Form I-765 application fee (or a fee-waiver request) only if they want an EAD. If the re-registrant does not want an EAD, no application fee is required; and
• The biometric services fee (or a fee-waiver request) if they are age 14 or older.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption.

USCIS will use a computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption.

USCIS will first randomly select petitions for the advanced degree exemption. All unselected advanced degree petitions will become part of the random selection process for the 65,000 general cap. The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not duplicate filings.

Before running the lottery, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period, which ended April 7. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date it will conduct the random selection process.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the congressionally mandated FY 2017 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.