UPDATE 10/15/15: We are getting closer to a proposed rule! OMB has finished its review, which means the proposed rule should be published in the Federal Register and the Notice and Comment period should begin very soon. You can check the federal register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/. Today, there are 5 proposed rules published, but I do not see the STEM rule there yet.

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UPDATE 10/7/15: DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson spoke on the topic of immigration reform at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Public Policy Conference on Oct. 7th. During his remarks, he stated that “within the next thirty days we will provide public notice of a proposed rule to strengthen the program that provides optional practical training for students in STEM fields studying at U.S. universities.” As I have indicated before, it is important for the proposed rule to be published by mid-October so that we can hopefully get it implemented before the court’s stay is lifted on Feb. 12th. Secretary Johnson’s remarks, for the most part, are in line with this timeframe. Hopefully we will see the proposal next week!

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We heard last week from SEVP, that DHS was working on a fix to the OPT STEM extension rule. More news today: We may have the actual proposed OPT STEM extension rule soon! On Friday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency response for managing the F-1 student visa program, submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for preliminary review. This is the required first step for any agency regulation based in a 1993 Presidential Executive Order. The Office of Management and Budget does a coordinated review of agency rulemaking to ensure that proposed regulations are consistent with applicable law and do not conflict with the policies of other agencies. No proposal can be published in the Federal Register until the OMB has completed its review. We don’t know how long this review will take, but hopefully it will be done in time to publish a rule this month. That may allow enough time to complete the full notice and comment period and publish a final rule to take effect by the Feb. 12th deadline.

We won’t have the specifics of what is contained in the proposed rule until it is actually published in the Federal Register. For now, we have to rely on the title of the proposed rule undergoing OMB review: “Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students with STEM Degrees and Expanding Cap-Gap Relief for All F-1 Students With Pending H-1B Petitions.”

It is possible that the proposal may include part of the President’s Executive Action which was to expand the degree programs eligible for OPT and extend the time period for STEM students. While the President’s Executive Action did not specify exactly what this meant, it appeared from some earlier communication with Senator Grassley, that the STEM extension might be expanded from 17 months to 24 months, see: http://immigrationgirl.com/opt-stem-extension-expansion-possible-proposal-in-august/. In addition, it looks like the proposed rule may also include cap gap relief, since that provision was also struck down in the recent Washtech litigation.

Pending EO 12866 Regulatory Review

RIN: 1653-AA72 View EO 12866 Meetings Received Date: 10/02/2015 Title: Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students with STEM Degrees and Expanding Cap-Gap Relief for All F-1 Students With Pending H-1B Petitions Agency/Subagency: DHS / USICE Stage: Proposed Rule Legal Deadline: None Economically Significant: Yes International Impacts: Yes Affordable Care Act [PPACA, P.L. 111-148 & 111-152]: No Dodd-Frank Act [Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, P.L. 111-203]: No

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoDetails?rrid=125575

~ImmigrationGirl