Optional Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major area of study. Under the prior rules, an F-1 student could be authorized to receive up to a total of 12 months of practical training either before (pre-) and/or after (post-) completion of studies.
Discussion Topics:
FAQs: Experience & education requirements for a PERM/labor certification-based green card || Continuing work or reverting to STEM OPT during H-1B Change of Status || For PERM, can I use my master's degree completed after I joined?
1. Can I have multiple employers i.e. jobs in the first year of OPT and also after getting STEM OPT extension?
2. Can all my employers start my green process simultaneously?
3. If H-1B COS is approved through one employer i.e. switched from OPT to H-1B, can I still continue other jobs and GC process with them? If not, is there a way to continue all jobs?
4. Does it make a green card case stronger if the sponsoring employer is a big renowned company like Microsoft or Amazon? Also, what about if the company is small?
5. Does OPT, STEM, and H-1B allow you to do a job that allows remote work from within the U.S. regardless of the pandemic? Is such a job eligible for H-1B and green card sponsorship?
1. Yes. STEM OPT people can also have more than one concurrent job, but they have to work with their DSO's to make sure the paperwork is filed properly.
2. Yes, as long as there is a good faith intention to join any one of these employers who can get your green card.
3. Yes, you can. You can have multiple H-1B approvals living together in the same space.
4. It does not impact the speed of the green card. What is most important is the company's financial solvency.
5. Remote work is possible for both OPT STEM, H-1B and Green Card jobs.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Discussion Topics:
Is it considered a violation of F-1 status to be on "unpaid leaves of absence" instead of being unemployed while waiting for OPT approval?
In my opinion, if you go on leave without pay you are only entitled to benefits or not even benefits as long as you are not working. I do not consider this to be a violation of the student status.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
I have been in the U.S since 2017 and my F1 visa expires this month due to the 5 year validity period.
1. I graduate in December 2022, so is there any risk in renewing my visa this summer? Any chance of rejections?
2. What is the risk involved in renewing my F1 visa in another country besides my country of citizenship? I lived my whole life as a resident in another country without citizenship, but am no longer a resident there, so was wondering if renewing there is fine?
3. Is renewing an F1 visa necessary for OPT? I believe it's not necessary. Is renewing an F1 visa necessary to apply for H-1B and Green card?
1. First of all, unless you are traveling you do not have to renew your visa. If the visa expires while you're still completing your course, it's absolutely no problem.
2. Technically, once your F-1 has been granted, any country should be able to renew it.
3. It is not necessary for both your queries.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Discussion Topics, Thursday, April 28, 2022:
1. Currently, I am on STEM OPT, working with my DSO-approved employer. My uncle wants to start a company and asked me for my help. So, an I help him without being an employee of his company?
2. Is active professional volunteering to a family member's company a violation of the F-1 STEM OPT status? I hold a Professional Engineer's license. If I let him use my license for his company, will that be ok under my current immigration status?
3. Can I be a partner in the company and an employee of the company if my uncle hires me as an employee?
1.The volunteering issue is a complicated one. When you are volunteering for charitable affairs or religious matters, I don't think there is any problem. The moment it starts getting into the realm of commercial volunteering it could potentially become an issue. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) private companies cannot take free work.
2. I personally think it is not a violation of your status. As for using your license for his company that could become problematic because the implication is that you are working for that company now. Remember under STEM OPT you can work for multiple companies, but you have to get approval from school for that.
3.The answer is Yes. Under OPT as well as under H-1B. As long as you have a genuine employer, employee relationship.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Question: I have a visitor visa for the USA for multiple visits up to June-2023. Can I apply for an extension of the visa before the expiry date? Also, advise procedure for extensions and where I can get the application form, so I can keep all details ready.
Answer: I am not aware if there is a procedure to apply for a visitor visa extension before expiration. You can send an email to the consulate to confirm. There is, however, a restriction under the consular standard operating procedures on holding concurrently valid visas of the same type.
FAQs: - From F-1 OPT directly applying for a green card - STEM OPT employment parameters, volunteering, part ownership, etc. - Can two employers file H-1B for the same employee using an existing I-140?
I am a student on F-1 and will be graduating by December 2022. Company A is willing to apply for an H-1B for me this year. I am interviewing with other companies, and I am planning to drop company A as soon as I graduate
1. If I am selected in the lottery and haven't done a change of status, can I continue on F-1 OPT with the other company (not Company A), after graduation?
2. Can Company A retract my H-1B if I leave them?
3. Being on F-1 can Company A start my green card if I win the H-1B lottery?
1. If you file it as a consular processing you can continue working on F-1OPT for that company or another company.
2. Absolutely.
3. That depends upon which country you were born in. If you were born in India that's not such a great deal.
Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, this is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.