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F-1 Student Visa, Optional Practical Training Risks Continue
Monday, November 19, 2018

Although there have been discussions for some time that the Trump Administration would change the rules regarding Optional Practical Training (OPT), OPT did not show up in the most recent “regulatory agenda.”

Nevertheless, the Administration has been putting limits on F-1 students in other ways. Those changes, at least in part, are responsible for a decline in foreign student enrollment at U.S. institutions.  Examples include:

Recent reports reveal that USCIS is denying change of status to H-1B petitions to students who have used more than 12 months of practical training – counting both Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and OPT. Students with these denials would have to leave the U.S. and apply for their H-1B visas abroad. Although this can be quite an inconvenience, the real fear is that the Consulate will decide that the student had accumulated “unlawful presence” (without even realizing it) while working in OPT status and thus become subject to one of the bars on admission.

It is not yet clear what the Department of State will do, but as the Cap H-1B season approaches, it is important to consider all of the possible risks. 

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