1. Approvals

2. Hot Topics

3. Service Center Operations 3 Cap-Gap  To qualify for the cap-gap extension an F-1 student must have an H-1B petition timely filed on his or her behalf that requests a change of status to H-1B with an effective date of October 1, 2013.  Timely filed means:  Filed before the current D/S authorization expires; and  During the open H-1B filing period, which starts April 1 st.  Employment is only authorized during the cap-gap period if the student was already authorized OPT at the time the H-1B petition was filed.

4. Service Center Operations 4 Cap-Gap, cont.  Students cannot depart the United States during the cap-gap period and return in F-1 status.  When an H-1B petition is denied, revoked, or withdrawn and a student wants to remain in F-1 status:  Students may be eligible to file for post-completion OPT during the cap-gap period and the 60 day departure period.  Students may be eligible to file for the STEM OPT extension during the cap-gap period as long as they do so while the H- 1B petition is still pending.  When a petitioner withdraws the job offer students need to verify, through the petitioner, that the H-1B petition is also withdrawn/revoked or risk changing to H-1B status October 1 st.

5. Service Center Operations 5 CLAIMS-SEVIS Interface Each year some students, who are the beneficiary of an H-1B change of status petition, are terminated in SEVIS. This is due to CLAIMS not updating correctly and showing the change of status effective as of the date of approval.  CLAIMS has been modified to reduce the number of occurrences.  SEVP runs sweeps to look for this problem.  Sweeps only work when the student’s SEVIS number is included on the H-1B petition.

6. Service Center Operations 6 30 Day Rule Students applying for post-completion OPT must file their application with USCIS within 30 days of the DSO entering the post-completion OPT recommendation into the student’s SEVIS record. Do not confuse the date the DSO enters the OPT recommendation into a student’s SEVIS record with the date the I-20 is issued or signed. They are not the same.