VISA2US Blog

The OPT program was designed to allow international students to work while in the US receiving a secondary education or for up to one year after graduation. Earlier changes to the program allow STEM students an optional 36-month extension. Opponents of this adaptation claim that it permits tech companies to bypass the typical H-1B work visa program, a notoriously challenging system with a limited annual quota of visas available. However, legal challenges to the OPT extension case have yet to be successful, and the last attempt at the Supreme Court level was also blocked when the Court refused to take the case. This decision to leave the OPT extension as it currently is reflects the importance of the STEM industry globally but impacts the H-1B program in general. Keep reading to learn more.

When you’re trying to obtain an H-1B visa, you must abide by specific beginning and ending dates, and these aren’t always optimal. This can be particularly concerning when you’re a student finishing your university program with a gap between your last day of school and your first day at your new job. Since this is relatively common, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a process in place to streamline your H-1B petition and allow you to remain in the US with a cap gap extension.

Foreign nationals enter the United States every year for various reasons, including work, tourism, and education. The visa they use to gain entry into the US depends on the reason for their visit. For international students, this is typically the F-1 status. However, only certain fields of study qualify for extensions that also permit work authorization. According to the latest updates from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there are eight new fields that fall under the STEM OPT degree and qualify for the two-year work authorization extension. We’ll break those fields down here.

Changes to how the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department handles premium processing have begun, and the latest round began on April 3, 2023. These adjustments directly affect students in certain F-1 categories and those petitioning for nonimmigrant foreign worker visas. This blog explains how you may be affected by the new regulations for premium processing.

There’s no denying that the H-1B visa is arguably the most popular category on the market. But with many more petitioners than visas allocated, it’s also very difficult to obtain. This year’s lottery, FY 2024, saw the largest influx of registrations in history, but the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can only provide 85,000 visas. If you weren’t one of the chosen few, you still have options, as we’ll discuss here.

The H-1B and certain other categories of visas are designed to bring skilled workers into the United States to fill specialty job positions. However, these workers must meet strict requirements, such as a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited university. Those applying for an advanced degree exemption typically have a bachelor’s and a master’s or beyond that must qualify as accredited. Hopeful H-1B petitioners need to verify that their institutions are from an accrediting agency, but recent changes in the US Department of Education have dropped an important one. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is no longer recognized, meaning substantial impacts for H-1B and certain F-1 student visa holders.

It’s no surprise that dealing with any government agency is confusing, but when it comes to applying for an H-1B visa as a STEM worker, USCIS tries to make this as easy as possible. 

The H-1B visa is a popular document coveted by millions of foreign workers yearly. Because it’s so sought after, the requirements to qualify are stringent, with only the most highly qualified specialty workers able to meet them. But even if you have a sponsoring US employer and meet the bar for the requirements, you still have to go through the random lottery system to begin petitioning for an H-1B visa. What happens if you aren’t one of the limited number chosen by USCIS’s lottery this year? Well, you don’t have to give up on your goal of entering the US for employment yet. Here, we’ll review your options for H-1B visa alternatives.

You have many benefits when you’re already in the United States as a foreign student under Optional Practical Training (OPT). But when your OPT is over, and you want to continue working in the country, how can you change your status to an H-1B visa? This short guide explains everything you need to know to move from OPT to an H-1B.

Over the past year, there have been significant developments for non-immigrants in the U.S., including spouses of H1-B holders. These changes are meant to improve the efficiency and fairness of the U.S. immigration system.