Nebraska Service Center Teleconference- Student/School Line Issues Thursday, May 21, 2009

Transcription

1 Nebraska Service Center Teleconference- Student/School Line Issues Thursday, May 21, 2009 Table of Contents 1. Copies of Previous I-20s Post-Masters Certificate Program- Eligibility for OPT Comment Field for OPT Recommendations Lost EADs I-765 Student Line Supervisor Monthly Teleconferences with SCOPS and SEVP Updated OPT Policy Guidance, Adjudicators Field Manual Processing Times for I Effect of Economy on Student I-765 Applications: Withdrawals Increase, STEM Applications Decrease Fee Waiver Requests... 5 Attendees: Nebraska Service Center Tom Barber Alice Wiechert, Assistant Center Director (over I-765 Lines) Joan Scdoris, Temporary (T-Pro) supervisor (over student I-765) until July 15 th Charity Masters, Immigration Service Officer, ILS NAFSA Jenny Bowen, Chair Region II: Kathy Singh, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Deborah Kuiken, University of Arizona; Region IV: Becky Zama, Iowa State University Region V: Brooke Thomas, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Kirsten Snyder, NAFSA Staff, Associate Director for Regulatory Liaison NAFSA Note: The Nebraska Service Center no longer provides written answers in advance of liaison teleconferences due to a new internal policy to clear all written guidance through USCIS Service Center Operations. Until written answers are available, NAFSA will post unofficial summaries of NSC verbal responses compiled by NAFSAns on the teleconference as preliminary guidance. However, the answers are subject to change. 1. Copies of Previous I-20s An applicant for pre-completion OPT recently received an RFE for the I-20 Forms used to request previous periods of curricular practical training (CPT) or pre-completion OPT, including Page 2. However, some Service Centers have advised that a printout of the Event History in SEVIS provides sufficient information for the purpose of showing previous periods of practical training. Can NSC confirm whether a printout of the Event History available in SEVIS provides sufficient information for the purposes of showing prior practical training? NAFSA Liaison Summaries Do Not Constitute Legal Advice Page 1

2 Summary of NSC verbal response: Although the SEVIS Event History Screen provides information as to whether the student has received prior CPT or pre-completion OPT, it does not show if that practical training was part-time or full-time. This is important in determining whether any time for prior full-time CPT or part-time/full-time practical training should be deducted from the 12 months total time allowed for OPT. NAFSA note: F-1 students who engage in an aggregate of 12 months or more of full-time CPT are ineligible for OPT, although part-time CPT does not affect eligibility for OPT. Parttime pre-completion OPT is counted at ½ the rate of full-time OPT. Can NSC adjudicators view the Event History page for a SEVIS record? Does it include all of the information necessary to adjudicate OPT? Summary of NSC verbal response: NSC adjudicators do not have full access to SEVIS; in general, adjudicators only have access to the Event History screen which does not contain the specific information about CPT or OPT needed. How important is it to have Page 2 of the I-20? Some institutions report that they do not routinely copy Page 2 and/or retain for the student file. Summary of NSC verbal response: The NSC does not require page 2 (instruction page) of an I-20 unless the I-20 was issued pre-sevis, when the Form I-20 listed the CPT and OPT information on page 2 rather than page Post-Masters Certificate Program- Eligibility for OPT F-1 student previously had OPT approved for Bachelor and Master's degrees. Student recently applied for standard OPT based on completion of a post-master's certificate program. A Master's degree is required for admission to this certificate program, so the school believes it should be considered a higher level. NSC sent an RFE indicating that "a certificate program would not be considered a higher degree level." According to 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)(3), a student may apply for OPT "after completion of the course of study, or, for a student in a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree program, after completion of all course requirements for the degree (excluding thesis or equivalent)." Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10), A student may be authorized 12 months of practical training, and becomes eligible for another 12 months of practical training when he or she changes to a higher educational level. The regulatory only refers to a higher educational level, not a higher degree level. Can NSC clarify why a post-masters certificate program would not qualify as a higher educational level when a master s degree is required for admission to the program? Summary of NSC verbal response: Post-masters certificate programs can be acceptable as a higher level of education. It is possible to be authorized for OPT based on a certificate program as long as the student has been enrolled one full academic year, the certificate program is at a level beyond the master s degree, the certificate program is an actual course of study rather than just additional courses, and the certificate program is through a legitimate institution of higher NAFSA Liaison Summaries Do Not Constitute Legal Advice Page 2

3 education. The NSC can RFE when there is doubt regarding the certificate program. For example, sometimes applicants submit a certificate as another level when the program was only 4-5 months, so NSC may ask for more information to ensure that the certificate is valid. The school should respond with more information about the program. 3. Comment Field for OPT Recommendations Comments are no longer required in SEVIS for OPT recommendations. In light of this, will USCIS still require comments on the 3rd page of the I-20? If so, please specify what information the comments should contain for pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT, and STEM OPT extensions. Summary of NSC verbal response: This question was sent to USCIS headquarters and should be answered at the NAFSA Annual Conference at the end of May. NAFSA note: Since SEVIS 6.0, SEVIS now requires the PDSO/DSO to indicate whether the OPT is pre- or post-completion and whether it is part or full-time. USCIS SCOPS has indicated that it agrees with SEVP that the I-20 itself constitutes the DSO s confirmation of OPT and the suitability of the proposed employment. During the February 2009 SEVIS Policy & Technical Teleconference, SEVP and USCIS stated that USCIS adjudicators should not require [a statement that OPT is related to coursework], stating that a DSO often cannot verify that a student s employment is related to course work since the student may not have a job offer at the time of the OPT recommendation. Except for OPT STEM extension I-20 forms, the DSO does NOT need to add comments confirming that OPT is directly related to a student s major, whether it is part-time or full-time, precompletion or post-completion. If an RFE is received on this issue, the school should respond and should report any problems related to this issue to NAFSA. 4. Lost EADs Some institutions have reported an increase recently in students' EAD cards lost in the mail. NCSC advises the students to apply for replacement cards. Of course, this delays their employment start date and is rather costly. Would NSC consider allowing students to pay extra for an express courier service to insure delivery of the EAD? Summary of NSC verbal response: The mailing of the EAD card is an automated process that does not allow for the use of private mailers. The NSC receives a lot of undeliverable mail back, so it appears to be a combination of problems with either the U.S. Postal Service and/or the mailing address used by the applicant. Students are particularly mobile, especially at the ends of semesters when they often apply for OPT. EADs that are returned to the NSC follow a formal process to see if there has been a change of address since, and would then be re-sent if there is a new address. If there has not been a change of address, a record is made of the card and it is NAFSA Liaison Summaries Do Not Constitute Legal Advice Page 3

4 sent to storage where it is kept for six months. If an inquiry comes in within this time frame, the EAD will be re-sent. Note: An update to an address in SEVIS does not update CLAIMS, so it is important to send the change of address to the NSC.schools address as well. 5. I-765 Student Line Supervisor Has a new I-765 Student Line Supervisor been appointed yet? Summary of NSC verbal response: Joan Scdoris is currently serving as the I-765 Student Line Supervisor on a 120-day T-Pro assignment through the middle of July after which a decision will be made on a permanent I-765 OPT Line Supervisor. 6. Monthly Teleconferences with SCOPS and SEVP We understand that NSC has been participating in monthly teleconferences with SCOPS and SEVP. Can NSC provide an update on how that is working for the Service Centers? Summary of NSC verbal response: The NSC has been participating in regular teleconferences covering I-765 and I-539 with USCIS Service Center Operations (SCOPS). SCOPS just had a teleconference last week to ensure consistency among Service Centers when adjudicating these applications. 7. Updated OPT Policy Guidance, Adjudicators Field Manual Have the I-765 OPT adjudicators received the draft revisions of the student chapter of the Adjudicators Field Manual and the updated SEVP Policy Guidance for DSOs on the OPT Extension (PDF) [ (Revised: April 6, 2009)? Summary of NSC verbal response: This question was the first time NSC had heard of the updates to the SEVP Policy Guidance for DSOs on the OPT Extension. NSC has now printed it out and is currently reviewing the changes. NSC has not yet received the draft of the updated student chapter of the Adjudicators Field Manual. Other Updates 8. Processing Times for I-765 NSC is current on I-765 requests, but they are also getting many requests for expedited processing. The NSC cautions PDSO/DSOs to request expedited processing only when there really is an expedite situation, not when the application is received by the NSC days prior to the requested start date of the OPT. Right now, none of the files in the workflow are over 60 days old. NAFSA Liaison Summaries Do Not Constitute Legal Advice Page 4

5 9. Effect of Economy on Student I-765 Applications: Withdrawals Increase, STEM Applications Decrease NSC is receiving more requests for OPT withdrawals than usual; most requests indicate the student would like to withdraw the OPT as s/he will be going back to school. However, it is likely also due to both the current economic situation and the new 90-day unemployment rule. Similarly, NSC reports that there have been fewer applications for STEM OPT so far this year. 10. Fee Waiver Requests Fee waiver requests for economic hardship applications are on the increase. For these types of applications, NSC asks that the student provide documentation that there is an inability to pay. Please note: NSC is more interested in seeing income rather than expenses as they want to understand that there is truly an inability to pay rather than a lack of self-control. Next call: Thursday, June 25, 2009 regarding Business Line Issues NAFSA Liaison Summaries Do Not Constitute Legal Advice Page 5