Frequently Asked Questions - Students

  1. F-1 OPT Requirements
  2. F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
  3. H-1 Quota issues for students
  4. Accredited University to get Master’s Degree to Process an EB-2 Green Card
  5. Processing Times Involved in NIW
F-1 OPT Requirements
1. How do I apply for F-1 OPT? 2. How do I get a 17-month STEM extension of my post-completion OPT?

1. Once you receive a recommendation for post-completion OPT from your Designated School Official (DSO) to pursue OPT, you must apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) with USCIS within 30 days. Additionally, you may file up to 90 days prior to your program end-date and not later than 60 days after your program end date. 

F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
As part of our Curricular Practical Training (CPT), I completed my summer internship with a company on 2nd of the September. So the formal procedure for extending the work is to apply again for the new CPT but somehow my second CPT delayed and got approved on 28th of September. Between 3rd and 28th for around three weeks, company asked me to work and I did. At the time I was not aware of the consequences but now I am in a great trouble. What do I do?

You have two choices that I can see: apply for reinstatement or go outside USA and reapply for a visa.

H-1 Quota issues for students

Q. I am a student graduating in December with my Masters degree. I have an offer from an university. I understand that universities apply for exempt-H1B. I also understand that exempt H1B's cannot be transferred to non-exempt H1B's.

Will I be able to work in the period from April to October 1st with the private company, when my non-exempt H1B is still in process? Will accepting this offer be a problem if i want to move to a private firm later?

Accredited University to get Master’s Degree to Process an EB-2 Green Card
In you previous Conference Calls you did mention that you did post videos on USCIS accredited Universities in USA. If a person is doing an MS or MBA in US he/she needs to do it from those accredited universities inorder for the educational evaluation to be done to achieve EB2 Status.Right now I have a 3 years of Bachelors degree from India and do not qualify for EB2 and I am in EB3. I wanted to do an MS or MBA in USA.

Watch the Video on this FAQ: How to find an accredited university to get Master’s degree to process an EB-2 green card

Video Transcript

Processing Times Involved in NIW
If I may verify the processing times involved in NIW. Since it falls under EB2 category, I am assuming it may be a long time before I can get my EAD card and be able to change employers. Also, I want to confirm if there could be issues if I change employers during the process - If so, I'd prefer to change my current employer before starting with it.

You can change employers any time if you are a self-applicant and will continue to work in your stated area of national interest.  But NIW priority date will take the same time as a normal EB-2 application does.  See: