This episode of Immigration Law for Tech Startups was recorded before the Trump administration’s July 6, 2020 directive that requires international students on F-1 and M-1 visas to take at least one in-person class in the fall or lose their visa status and be forced to leave the U.S.

As of this writing, the administration has yet to finalize this directive that prevents international students from entering the U.S. or remaining in the U.S. while taking a full online course load even as the COVID-19 crisis continues. In the spring, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), allowed international students to take a full online course load through the summer semester due to COVID-19 without facing deportation. The new directive requires colleges and universities to inform ICE about the educational format they plan to offer in the fall.

Meanwhile, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the administration in federal court on July 8, 2020, asking the court to prevent the administration from enforcing the new directive and declare it unlawful. In addition, the University of California has also announced its intent to file a lawsuit against the federal government for violating the rights of the university and its students. In addition, many top universities, including Brown, Columbia, New York University, Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania, promised to protect international students.

International students are critical to U.S. colleges and universities and the U.S. economy more broadly. International students often pay full tuition at U.S. colleges and universities many of which are facing declining enrollment and state funding cuts. International students make up more than than 20 percent of the student body at many top U.S. universities. They contributed $41 billion to the U.S. economy and supported or created 458,000 jobs during the 2018-2019 academic year, according to NAFSA.

In this episode, we discuss what you should know about the F-1 student visa and obtaining a work permit for Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT), and STEM OPT.

 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What to expect with the F-1 student visa application process
• What to expect when you enter the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa, such as the F-1, and what that means
• The benefits and limitations of the F-1 visa
• The requirements for CPT, OPT, and STEM OPT 
• How your startup can sponsor you for OPT or STEM OPT
• How most tech employers work with OPT and STEM OPT students

 

Resources:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s original announcement about online classes

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sevp-modifies-temporary-exemptions-nonimmigrant-students-taking-online-courses-during

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s subsequent message on the new directive

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf

Harvard and MIT lawsuit

https://www.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/content/sevp_filing.pdf

UC announcement about its forthcoming lawsuit

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-poised-sue-federal-government-over-new-visa-policy-international-students

NAFSA’s report, Losing Talent 2020: An Economic and Foreign Policy Risk America Can’t Ignore, March 2020

https://www.nafsa.org/sites/default/files/media/document/nafsa-losing-talent.pdf

Alcorn Immigration Law’s information page on F-1 Visas

https://www.alcorn.law/f-1-visa-students/

Alcorn Immigration Law’s information page on OPT

https://www.alcorn.law/opt-optional-practical-training/

Alcorn Immigration Law’s information page on STEM OPT

https://www.alcorn.law/stem-opt-extension/

Get Alcorn’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

https://witty-author-184.ck.page/56ccd401fc

 

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