A Good news to US immigrant students but it’s bundled with a hurdle pack! – OPT 2016-17

As of May 10, 2016, immigrant students who pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) course in the United States can extend their OPT longer than before. However, it is certainly not a very good news for the new restrictions and requirements imposed by the U.S. Immigration authority to get this OPT extension. The new rules demand several requirements from the companies/organizations offering OPT extension, the hurdle which may reduce the OPT opportunities for international students. This blog gives you quick glance about the changes in OPT rules,

Employer Certificate is no longer enough!

The international students were previously permitted to enjoy 17 months of work extension after consuming their OPT work authorization associated to STEM degree. All they had to do is a letter from the employer who offers the job certifying him/her to work for their organization. But now, the employer must undergo certain paperwork to justify the opportunity offered to the applicant. After accomplishing this paperwork, the applicant can extend their OPT work authorization (to STEM students) for up to 24 months.

The Employer's paperwork should describe the following,

Adequate Resources – The aim of this opportunity to students is that a participation in a formal training program will augment the student's overall academic knowledge and learning in terms of the practical experience. Thus, the employer must make sure of enough resources (i.e. sufficiently trained personnel) to teach the students and knowledge them.

Equal Responsibilities and Benefits

The employer must make sure that the job offer involves the same duties, working hours, and salaries compared to that of positions held by other employees (Non-Immigrant).

Cannot grab the role of U.S Worker

The international student on this work permit can never replace a full-time/part-time/temporary/permanent U.S. worker who already employed in that organization. These attestations are included to the attestations already existing under the previous rule. These new rules were implemented in response to a lawsuit filed to enjoin the OPT program on the grounds that it deprives U.S. workers of employment opportunities. While the court agreed with the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit, the court's decision to enjoin the OPT program was stayed to allow the relevant government agencies to develop new rules showing that OPT is meant to provide legitimate practical experience to students rather than giving employers a "cheap" labor source.

Detailed Explanation of the Program

The toughest and time-consuming paperwork of this obligation for employers is documenting detailed and succinct explanation about the training program offered to the applicant. In spite of the fact that it already exists or has been developed specifically for the student, they need to document the clear information and submit to the immigration authority. Some of the crucial elements that this document include are,

• Detailed description of the student's role within the employer's organization

• Goals and primary intent of the training

• Competencies and benchmarks aimed to be achieved by the student

• Information on the day-to-day activities the student

• Activities that highlights the enhancement of his/her studies

• Explanation of how those day-to-day duties are associated with his/her studies

• Additional mentoring and training supplemented by the program

• Explaining how the student is supervised

• Facilities and systems to monitor the student's work and provide mentoring

• Employer's existing organizational reporting structure

• How is the student assigned assignments and how they are supervised?

• The description of the approaches followed by the employer to evaluate student’s progress. (must justify why that particular process is chosen and does that evaluates the student’s progress accurately.

Form I-983

All the above-mentioned elements are covered in a form called I-983 which the employer who offers OPT extension to the immigrant student. 

Although the ability to extend 24 months OPT is a sweet surprise, the new rules are nevertheless a tiresome process to succeed.