F1 Visa Related Articles
There have been rumors that the Trump administration would charge $100K for F1 OPT students, which was reported by Wall Street Journal, back in July 2026. Today, DHS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that pretty much adds up to $100K fee for OPT, if you use OPT and STEM OPT. In this …
Since the Trump Administration took office for a second term in 2025, it has reintroduced many of the regulations that were not implemented during its first term, such as the weighted wage-based selections for the H-1 B lottery. In the context of the F1 Visas, in the first term, they attempted to implement a rule that …
Many international students planning to study in the US have been stuck in limbo due to the pause in Student Visa Appointments (F, M Visas) since late May 2025. In a big relief to those prospective international students, the US Department of State announced on June 18th that they are resuming the F and M …
In the last couple of days, there has been a lot of news coverage on US Student Visa appointments being paused by the US Department of State. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the same on what is the official news, guidance, and why the F1 Visa appointments are paused. In this article, we …
USCIS continues to implement the premium processing options for various types of applications filed with them, which was part of the HR 8337 bill, which passed in October 2020. They announced on March 6th, 2023 that they are making premium processing available for F1 students applying for OPT and STEM OPT. The original Sep 2020 …
As you know, getting a US Visa appointment in India is very hard as the demand far exceeds the supply. There were a few calls organized by the US Embassy and US Consulates in India in recent months outlining the outlook of visa appointments for various visa types. You can check the recent update at …
As per USCIS news, starting from April 12th, 2021, they started to accept online form for OPT, STEM OPT extensions filed by F1 visa students. USCIS organized an online webinar to explained the process and clarify many of the common questions. As there is no recording available for public, we have compiled all the common …
If you are an F1 student in US, your options to work are either CPT, OPT or STEM OPT. Applying for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is very simple and does not involve working with USCIS. Unlike, for Optional Practical Training (OPT) or STEM OPT Extension F1 student needs to submit an application for Employment Authorization …
Today US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 15 students on F1 Visa OPT, who fraudulently used OPT program to stay in the country. It is part of an operation called “OPTical Illusion”. The operation was part of ICE enforcement that monitors F1 students for compliance and their status. SEVP and ICE monitors over one …
Recently The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gave guidance to schools that says In-person classes are must for F1, M students and they cannot be fully enrolled in online only classes. If the schools do not offer in-person or mixed mode classes, then such students have …