On March 11, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a Final Rule, effective May 10, 2016, 81 Fed. Reg. 13039 (March 11, 2016), that provides requirements and procedures for 24-month extensions to post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorization of foreign nationals who are in F-1 student visa status with U.S. degrees in fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (“STEM” fields). The new regulation also contains transition provisions for approved and pending STEM OPT applications filed under prior regulations. Finally, the new regulation carries over the “cap gap” work authorization and status extension provisions that existed under prior rules.

On April 8, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published an Interim Final Rule, effective immediately, that provides for additional Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorization for foreign nationals in F-1 student visa status who would otherwise be limited to twelve months of OPT.  The new regulation provides two types of prolonged OPT: (1) an automatic extension of OPT to bridge the “cap gap” between an employee’s OPT expiration date and the October 1st date when an approved cap-subject H-1B petition takes effect; and (2) a seventeen-month extension, upon application, of OPT for graduates of U.S. degree programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (“STEM” degrees) who have jobs related to their field of study with employers who are enrolled in the government’s E-Verify program.