News



September 18, 2008: Job workshop for international students

The Career Center is pleased to offer a workshop for graduate and undergraduate international students seeking work in the United States. On Thursday, September 18, 2008, at 4 pm in Arellano Theater (Levering Hall), Mark Rhoads and Helen Konrad, experienced immigration lawyers from the law firm of McCandlish Holton, will visit campus to hold a workshop for international students. The workshop will focus on work visa options after graduation, including Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B. They will offer practical advice on job search strategies and how to deal with the H-1B quota, as well as options other than H-1B for those who qualify. They will also discuss permanent resident green card options. H-1B and green card rules are changing rapidly, and this workshop will provide the most up-to-date information available. There will be plenty of time for general questions and answers during and after the workshop.

Summer 2008: OISSS location is moving.

During the period covered from late July to early August, our Office will be moving from its previous location on 3103 N. Charles St. to 135 Garland Hall, within the Homewood Campus (3400 N. Charles St.) Our contact information (telephone and e-mail) will remain the same.

We appreciate your comprehension during this period of transition.


May 8, 2008: Proposal to Increase Periods of Stay for TN Professional Workers From Canada or Mexico

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to increase the maximum amount of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico can remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay. The proposal will extend the maximum period of admission for TN workers from one year to three years, the same term that USCIS currently may grant to H-1B specialty occupation workers.

The proposed rule will further allow eligible TN nonimmigrants to be granted an extension of stay in increments of up to three years, as opposed to the current maximum of one year. TN nonimmigrants are not subject to a maximum period of stay and thus may seek multiple readmissions or extensions, provided their intended professional activity continues and they remain otherwise eligible. Current regulations require that TN workers seek readmission or apply for an extension of stay each year. (Full text of the USCIS notice.)

May 7, 2008: USCIS to allow F-1 students oportunity to request change of status

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it would allow F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of selected H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to request a change of status in lieu of consular notification.

This short-term measure follows an April 8, 2008 interim final rule that, among other actions, automatically extends the F-1 status of qualifying students who are the beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions to cover the gap between the expiration of a student’s F-1 status and the H-1B employment start date of October 1. To obtain the automatic extension, a student must be the beneficiary of an H-1B petition filed for the next fiscal year (with an October 1 employment start date) and have requested a change of status. For F-1 student beneficiaries of petitions that USCIS subsequently rejects, denies, or revokes, or for those who violate their status, the automatic extension terminates at that time. (Full text of the USCIS notice.)

April 18, 2008: 17-month extension for OPT

Effective April 8, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new regulations providing an additional 17 months of OPT to F-1 students who earned bachelors, masters or doctoral degrees in the Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) fields. (See form and instructions.)

Eligibility Requirements
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