Student and Work Visa

OPT Period Extension and H1B Visa

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Every year U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts H1B petitions starting from 1st April. As such, petitions for the fiscal year 2017 will be accepted from 1st April 2016. The current quota for H1B VISA is 65,000 under the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption – also known as the Masters quota. Thus, the total quota stands at 85,000. In the previous year, USCIS received a total of nearly 233,000 H1B petitions under both the categories put together from 1st April to 7th April and then they stopped accepting new applications. For the first time, USCIS received more than the limit of 20,000 H1B petitions under the Masters quota (the exact number of applications is not declared by USCIS). Computer generated random selection process (lottery) is conducted for Masters quota petitions which selects 20,000 applicants for the Master’s degree cap completion. The H1B petitions filed under Masters quota cap, but not selected in the first round of lottery are then added to the general quota of petitions. The lottery is then conducted for this pool to select 65,000 petitions towards the general quota cap completion. USCIS rejects and returns the remaining H1B petitions.

Advantages of OPT Extension:

Since H1B VISA petitions are accepted only once a year i.e. 1st April, if the petition is rejected, the applicant has to wait for a further period of one year, i.e., till next April to be able to apply again. In case, a student has an OPT period of only one year, his OPT period lapses before the next April. Hence, he doesn’t get a second chance to apply for H1B visa and has no option but to return to his home country. But students under STEM category will now get an OPT period of 36 Months (Regular 12 months + 24 months extension). In other words, such students will get two more chances for applying for H1B visa if their first petition is rejected. For example, if a student applies for H1B visa on 1st April 2016 but does not get selected in the lottery of 2016, he would still be able to apply for H1B visa again on 1st April 2017 and once again on 1st April 2018.

24-Month STEM OPT Extension

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending it F1 non immigrant visa regulations on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) from US institutions of higher education.

OPT is a period during which undergraduates (BS/BA) and graduate students (MS/MBA) with F1 status who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for more than 9 months are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work for 12 months on a student visa towards getting practical training to complement their education. On April 2nd 2008 DHS announced a 17-month extension to the OPT for students in qualifying STEM fields to be eligible for the 12-month permit. Any degree in any field of studies is valid. For the 17-month OPT extension a student must have received a STEM degree as listed on the USCIS website.

DHS is now amending its rule regarding OPT under STEM category to extend the OPT period to 24 months. This 24-month extension effectively replaces the 17-month OPT extension previously available to certain STEM students. In short, a student can now work in America for up to 36 months after completing degree even if he doesn’t qualify for H1B visa during that period. This rule will be effective from May 10th 2016.

The rule also makes F1 students who subsequently enroll in a new academic program and another STEM degree at a higher education level eligible for one additional 24 months STEM OPT extension. In other words, a student can get 36 months OPT after undergraduate education (BS) and also after completing a graduate degree (MS) from STEM category.

The rule also permits an F1 student completing a non-STEM graduate degree to use a prior eligible STEM degree from a US institution of higher education as the basis to apply for a STEM OPT extension. For e.g. if a student has completed MS in STEM category and now completes MBA which is a non-STEM degree is also eligible for the 36 months OPT extension.

To improve the integrity of the STEM OPT extension, the rule limits eligibility only to students with degrees from schools accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department of Education.

Keep yourself updated on our next blog on E-Verify requirements and Cap-Gap extension.

The F1 Visa Process

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Most of you have received admits from the universities and are now in the crucial phase of visa application. Here is a quick look at the visa process, chronologically.

 

1. filling in the DS 160 form
2. paying the visa fees
3. scheduling appointments for:
a) submitting biometric data and documents at the Offsite Facilitation Centre and
b) the Visa Interview
4. post visa interview

1. Online Filling of the DS 160 Form
The first step is to fill the DS 160 form online. Filling the form generates a CONFIRMATION NUMBER. You will require this number to print the ‘Receipt of Payment’ (which, in this case, is printed out before you make any payment!) since it contains the CGI reference number that is required if you are going to pay the visa fees in cash.

2. Payment of Visa Fees
You can now pay the visa fees by:
1. Electronic Fund Transfer
2. Mobile Phone
3. Cash payment at any Axis bank branch (there are over 1800 branches across the country) If you make cash payment of the fees (recommended), be sure to take along the ‘Receipt of Payment’ that you printed out earlier. The bank will need to see the ‘CGI Reference Number’ on it when you go to pay the visa fees. If you fail to produce the ‘Receipt of Payment’ the bank will not accept your visa fees.

3. Scheduling the Appointments
You can schedule appointments only after the receipt is ‘activated.’ Usually, this takes an hour. Once the receipt has been activated, you will have to schedule two appointments:
1. Offsite Facilitation Center (OFC) – this appointment is for you to submit fingerprints of all ten fingers, photographs (digital and physical) and required documents. This appointment has to be scheduled at least one day prior to the visa interview date.
2. Visa Interview – this is the actual visa interview appointment.
Note:
1. You cannot appear for both appointments on the same date; and appointments for consecutive dates may not always be available. There have been instances where there is one whole week between the OFC appointment and the appointment for the interview. If that happens to you, you will have to make two trips to the consulate.
2. After the visa has been granted the passport is couriered to the home address (this facility is available for select cities only) or can be collected from the VFS center nearest to the home city.

4. Post Visa Interview
After you have been granted the US visa you can track your passport to check if it is ready for pick-up.
Once the passport is delivered at the pick-up centre you can collect it in person. In case you are unable to collect it, you may send your family member to collect it on your behalf along with your ID proof. Instructions on passport pick-up can be found HERE

If you have any queries related to:

  • filling the DS-160 form
  • payment of visa fees or
  • scheduling/changing visa appointments

these can be made at:

  • Email: support-india@ustraveldocs.com
  • Telephone: +91-120 – 4844644 or +91 40 46258222
  • Skype: user name: ustraveldocs-india
  • Online Chat: www.ustraveldocs.com

TIMINGS:
Monday-Friday: 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

What to Do When You Get Admission

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Congrats! Now you have the admission message or letter you were waiting for. After all the celebrations though, it is the beginning of yet another round of many things to be done before you reach your ultimate aim: enrolling for the program you desire. So, what things come next? Well, you have to get the I-20 form and the visa. The approximate sequence of what you have to do to get these two crucial documents is as follows:

Admission in US for MS1. Read the letter or email carefully. If you have to send an acceptance of the offer do it promptly. Even if you have multiple offers it makes sense to accept more than one when there is no offer of funding.

2. If you have received the I-20 form along with the offer of admission you can straightaway start the preparations for visa.

3. More likely, however, the university will ask you to send affidavits of support from your sponsors as well as the bank statements of your sponsors showing that you have sufficient funds for meeting the I-20 form amount (that is, the total cost of the first year which, includes tuition, other fees and living expenses.)

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All About the I-20

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I-20The I-20: What It Is and What It Contains

Once you have been admitted by an American university, your university will send you an I-20 to enable you to enter the U.S. on an F-1 (student) visa. The I-20 is a certificate of non-immigrant eligibility i.e. it certifies that you are eligible to travel to the United States as a student and are not traveling as an immigrant. This document, sometimes referred to as a DS-2019, is usually sent to you by the admissions office in your university.

The I-20 certifies that you have enough financial resources to attend school and pay for your living expenses while attending school without resorting to illegal employment or relying on public funds. For this reason, the I-20 states:

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MS in US Career Opportunities For Computer Science / ECE Students

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This post is written by our guest author: Ameya Kanitkar

Ameya holds master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Currently he works as a Software Engineer at a startup in Silicon Valley, California.

Computer Science Jobs: Google, Facebook, Apple, MicrosoftIf there is one industry which is booming in US, it’s the technology industry. If you hold an engineering degree in Computer Science/ Computer Engineering/ Information Systems/ ECE, you should strongly consider pursuing your postgraduate degree in the US. Here in the valley, companies are fighting for top tech talent – and the scenario is going crazy: entry-level software engineer salaries have already crossed $100,000/year mark. But when we say Computer Science there is more to it. This post is attempt to dive into various branches and see how various opportunities are stacking up in the US in general.

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The Student or F-1 Visa All the Basics Simply Explained

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Visas explained

The US government issues more than 30 different types of visa. For example, tourists and business-men are issued B-1 or B-2 visas and those authorized to work in US are given an H-1B visa. Students going for vocational courses, such as, in flying schools or English language courses get an M-1 visa. However, most students require an F-1 visa stamp.
This is the most commonly issued type of visa for students going to an accredited university for a full-time academic program lasting for one or more years.

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Important Alert: the F-1 Visa Process has Changed

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The new visa process announced by the US Consulate in September 2012 is completely new. Everything has changed right from payment of the visa fees to scheduling a date at the consulate. The following steps are involved.

  1. filling in the DS 160 form
  2. paying the visa fees
  3. scheduling appointments for:
    1. submitting biometric data and documents at the Offsite Facilitation Centre and
    2. the Visa Interview

1. Online Filling of the DS 160 Form

The first step is to fill the DS 160 form online. Filling the form generates a CONFIRMATION NUMBER. You will require this number to print the ‘Receipt of Payment’ (which, in this case, is printed out before you make any payment!) since it contains the CGI reference number that is required if you are going to pay the visa fees in cash.

2. Payment of Visa Fees

You can now pay the visa fees by:

  1. Electronic Fund Transfer
  2. Mobile Phone
  3. Cash payment at any Axis bank branch (there are over 1800 branches across the country)

If you make a cash payment of the fees (recommended), be sure to take along the ‘Receipt of Payment’ that you printed out earlier. The bank will need to see the ‘CGI Reference Number’ on it when you go to pay the visa fees. If you fail to produce the ‘Receipt of Payment’ the bank will not accept your visa fees.

3. Scheduling the Appointments

You can schedule appointments only after the receipt is ‘activated.’ Usually, this takes an hour. Once the receipt has been activated, you will have to schedule two appointments:

  1. Offsite Facilitation Center (OFC) – this appointment is for you to submit fingerprints of all ten fingers, photographs (digital and physical) and required documents. This appointment has to be scheduled at least one day prior to the visa interview date.
  2. Visa Interview – this is the actual visa interview appointment.

Note:

  1. You cannot appear for both appointments on the same date; and appointments for consecutive dates may not always be available. There have been instances where there is one whole week between the OFC appointment and the appointment for the interview. If that happens to you, you will have to make two trips to the consulate.
  2. After the visa has been granted the passport is couriered to the home address (this facility is available for select cities only) or can be collected from the VFS center nearest to the home city.

What are the pros and cons of this new process?

PROS:

  1. More ways of paying the visa fees
  2. Over 1800 Axis bank branches across the country for payment of visa fees in cash
  3. no additional documents other than the ‘Receipt of Payment’ to be carried to the bank
  4. Elimination of spelling mistakes in the applicant’s name due to manual input at the bank.
  5. No need to go to the VFS center prior to the visa interview.
  6. Time required for activation of visa fee receipt reduced from 2 working days to an hour enabling quicker scheduling of the visa interview.

CONS:

  1. DS 160 (which is a very long form) has to be completely filled before you can print the ‘Payment of Receipt’ and without the ‘Payment of Receipt’ the visa fees will not be accepted by the bank.
  2. Two appointments (OFC and visa interview) have to be scheduled on two separate dates, which may not be consecutive. Hence you may have to travel twice to the city where the consulate is located.
  3. You may have to collect your passport from the VFS centre.

If you have any queries related to:

  • filling the DS-160 form
  • payment of visa fees or
  • scheduling/changing visa appointments

these can be made at:

  • Email: support-india@ustraveldocs.com
  • Telephone: 91-120-6602222 or +91-22-67209400
  • Skype: user name: ustraveldocs-india
  • Online Chat: www.ustraveldocs.com

TIMINGS:

  • Monday-Friday: 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
  • Sunday: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Related Links

Other Application Documents:

Also ‘Must-See’

H1-B Cap Full—What This Means in Terms of Job Opportunities after MS in the US

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News: USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for this year is full. What does this mean for you regarding job opportunities after MS in the US? The economy is showing signs of healthy job growth for non-US citizens in the US! Its getting better.

On the first business day in April, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services opens the rounds of petitioning for coveted H1-B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The agency awards the 85,000 visas on a first-come, first-served basis and companies scramble to get in their applications for foreign hires as quickly as they can. The cap has been the same since 2004, with 65,000 slots for foreign hires and 20,000 spaces reserved for graduates of U.S. universities. This year human resources managers, knowing the cap was close to being filled, worked through the weekend, racing to file.

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News Update: No Major Changes to US Visa Policy for Indian Students

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Some good news from US policy holders: it’s now relatively easier to get US visas! Bad news: most of you obtaining US student visa for the very first time will not be benefited from the change. This policy change will most help those in the visa ‘renewals’ category. But unfortunately a large section of F1 Visa seekers are typically applying for the very first time.

US Student Visa

We are still reviewing the visa policy, however from the first look, it seems that not much has changed for students.

News Links:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/New-US-norm-to-ease-visa-renewal/Article1-828883.aspx

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12361305.cms