There have been lot of frantic discussions on the blog with various sorts of information from students who have called help desk, talked to DSOs, what they see in SEVIS. There have been some recent changes with SEVIS and recent launch of SEVP Portal this year that make some of these changes automatic. Let’s look at the details.
Background of SEVIS, SEVP, SEVP Portal :
There are three things, SEVP, SEVIS and SEVP Portal. It is important to know the details.
SEVP : Firstly, SEVP is the Student and Exchange Visitors Program ( SEVP). This is the program name and not a software system.
SEVIS : SEVIS stands for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)and is used by SEVP, DHS. “SEVIS is the web-based system for maintaining information on international students and exchange visitors US, which is primary software for DHS and it tracks and monitors non-immigrant students and exchange visitors.” SEVIS is used by Designated School Officials (DSO), who are also called as international student advisors for issuing I-20s, updating statuses of international students for events like CPT, OPT, cap gap extensions.
SEVP Portal : It is the tool that is available to post completion OPT students and STEM OPT extension students to report their address changes, phone number changes, employment changes. Either students can use SEVP portal to update the changes or ask DSO to do it for them. SEVIS and SEVP Portal share data. Student data is immediately updated from SEVP Portal to SEVIS system. But, DSO changed data in SEVIS is update to SEVP Portal once a day. SEVP Portal sends an email from do-not-reply.SEVP@ice.dhs.gov to create an account for the student, when the OPT is in approved status in SEVIS, OPT start date is not in future and student’s email ID is maintained SEVIS. DSO cannot directly access SEVP portal, but they manage many things like unlocking accounts, change email IDs, re-send the SEVP portal registration email, see report of changes, identify students. SEVP Portal is very new and introduced by SEVP on Feb 26, 2018.
Let’s first look at the SEVIS system that is used by DSO. Before we go into details, one very important part is, the below SEVIS info applies to only “Cap Gap eligible F1 students on Post Completion OPT or STEM OPT Extension”, which means it applies to students who have OPT ending date before September 30th and who have filed a H1B petition.
How does SEVIS system work for Cap Gap Extensions and H1B Petitions Changes ?
As you can see below screenshot from DHS website, SEVIS gets H1B petition data automatically from USCIS and updates the records in SEVIS to show the cap gap extension. But, systems are not always consistent with integration and data flows, there can be issues where a student’s H1B petition info was not sent properly from USCIS to SEVIS system and it does not get updated. In that context, DSO can manually request a cap gap extension for H1B petitions that are filed , waitlisted or rejected by USCIS.
What happens to F1 status, OPT end date during Cap Gap in SEVIS with H1B Petition Changes?
You have few possible options for your H1B petition like Filed, Pending, Approved, Rejected and Waitlisted statuses. Check the screenshot below and read the below section.
H1B Filed Only – No lottery Result indicated : If the system extends your OPT end date to June 1st, it only tells that your H1B petition was filed, but does not tell anything about H1B Lottery result. So, this state clearly does not tell your H1B Lottery result.
H1B Lottery Selected/ Pending Processing / Approved : The OPT end date in SEVIS system will be updated to September 30th, if it is either approved or in pending status by USCIS. What it means is that your case was selected in the lottery and is either being processed or approved.
These details are visible in SEVIS system to DSO and these also are replicated to SEVP Portal. We will look at SEVP portal later.
Can DSO Update the F1 student status in SEVIS ? If so, what can they do ?
As we mentioned earlier, not all times the data is transferred properly and there may be scenarios where SEVIS system is not updated automatically based on H1B status from USCIS. Below are the three statuses a DSO can update the system based on information provided by Student.
Filed
Rejected
Waitlisted
Cancelled
If your OPT cap gap is before June 1st and the system is not updated, you can send your Fedex Receipt and application info from Attorney/ employer and ask your DSO to update the status to filed and have your F1 status updated to June 1st. Depending on the result of Lottery and case notice details, you can subsequently work with DSO and update these details in SEVIS.
What is SEVIS Data Fix ?
If DSO has issues updating the system after he learns from the student, they should call SEVIS help desk for a data fix as shown below. Once DSO calls or emails SEVIS they will get a help desk ticket with a reference number. This can be used to expedite the request, if there are any urgent issues.
Now, let’s look at the SEVIS Portal scenarios, where many students have been posting on the blog that their OPT end date was updated and they got selected in lottery.
SEVP Portal OPT End Date Changes for Cap Gap Students – Lottery Selected ?
First and foremost, SEVP Portal and SEVIS share the same data. SEVIS system data is replicated once a day to SEVP Portal. So, both DSO or you will see the same information after the sync happens. As an F1 student on OPT, if your OPT is approved and started, you would have got an email from do-not-reply.SEVP@ice.dhs.gov to create an account. If you have missed the email by either spam or have wrong email ID in SEVIS, you can ask your DSO to re-send the registration email for SEVP Portal. You can register and create an account. For detail steps, check out SEVP Portal User Guide.
After you login, you will see the OPT end date under employment section. It looks like below. You can expand the + to see details of the employment. The key thing is the Type of OPT authorization and End Date. It should be Post Completion and the end date changes reflect your H1B petition status, depending on how the USCIS system data is updated with SEVIS.
H1B Lottery Selected : If your OPT end date in SEVP Portal under employment is changed to September 30th, it means that your H1B Petition is either in Approved or Pending status, which basically means that you were selected in H1B Lottery.
H1B Petition Filed : If your OPT end date in SEVP Portal under employment is changed to June 1st, it indicates that your H1B petition was filed, but does not indicate your petition was picked in Lottery.
Samples SEVP Portal Updates posted by Users with OPT End date Extended to September 30th ( 9/30) – H1B Lottery Selected .
Thanks to few of our readers Ash, sj, and others who have shared their SEVP Portal update with us for clarity. They look like below. Thanks to Ash,sj and others for their help !
Post Completion OPT End date Updated to September 30th.
STEM OPT Sample OPT End date updated
So, in a nutshell, if you are in cap gap scenario and have your OPT ending date updated in SEVP Portal or SEVIS as updated by DSO, you can derive that your H1B petition was either picked in H1B Lottery or not. But, one key thing, not all of the data is properly synchronized with USCIS and SEVIS and it is your duty to call DSO and update your status, if you find it out from employer that your H1B was picked in lottery or rejected. You will need to submit reject notice or case receipt copy to be able to have DSO edit your SEVIS records properly. Also, do not be disheartened that your status or end date was not updated like others as you see comments on the blog, it takes time…not everyone gets at the same time…it can take few weeks or a month or more. Until you get a reject notice, do not take anything for granted. Stay positive !
What are your thoughts ? Your experiences with SEVP Portal ? Status updates on SEVIS vs SEVP Portal ? Any other questions.
Satheesh Kumar Ilu, commonly known as Kumar, is the founder of RedBus2US.com. He is an Immigration and Study Abroad expert. He holds an MS from the University of Houston–Clear Lake and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He studied, lived, and worked in the U.S. and Singapore for nearly two decades, and has traveled to over 25 countries.
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1,639 Comments
No Update from attroney, DSO, SEVP Portal. Loosing Hope day by day. This is my final attempt. Not sure what to do.
Same question. My OPT does not expire until next year. on April 10th relation to field got updated under history tab. The update is from Sevis. But, at the same time my OPT extension got approved. So, I don’t know if it is related to h1 or not.
I hold an AD and my STEM OPT expires September 13, 2018 (this year’s my last chance). SEVP portal has not been updated.
Does this mean that I have not been selected? If not, please explain…
My Step OPT expires after 09/30, but my sevp also got updated with change in “Relation to ” field in employer section. But i have not heard anything yet from the lawyers. Is anyone on the same boat ?
I am on initial 12 month OPT with end date as January. So i haven’t got any SEVP portal updates.
I emailed my DSO and they gave a standard reply that there are no updates and check with Employer.
Does this mean mine was not selected?
Is there still a chance that it might get picket in the lottery?
My Authorized End Date was extended to September 30th on Tuesday, April 17 on SEVP portal. Fragomen received my receipt today, April 24. Case was processed in the CA center. This was my 3rd & final attempt, ADV. Good luck to the rest of the applicants.
I got receipt notice today, AD here. I checked the SEVP portal and there were no updates on it (none under history section either). For those worrying about that, don’t lose hope.
By receipt you mean you got your receipt number or a notification saying your case was selected?
My DSO also said that my case shows pending status when he checked on SEVP portal. Not really sure as what it means
Are these updates to the SEVP portal only for the CAP-GAP cases or rest of the regular master’s CAP cases as well ? My Post completion OPT expires 05/18 and I have applied for my STEM OPT to start immediately after that. Wondering if it’ll update for my case if my application gets picked.
Thanks. It’s completely unrelated but what happens to your STEM OPT status in this case ? Do they reject it ? approve it ? approve it with start date after 30 Sep ?
Finally got the update from the lawyer with the receipt notice. SEVP updated on 4/17 so it took some time. Going to contact DSO and ask for the new I-20. AD, STEM, first and last time, Vermont.
Good luck everyone! And don’t loose hope. Think about it: we haven’t heard from anyone from Regular Cap about SEVP update. And numerically, more AD people will go through Regular Cap tham Master’s. So everyone still has a chance.
Congrats 🙂
” more AD people will go through Regular Cap tham Master’s” – Can you please provide more information on this?
Does non-AD refer to non-Masters people only ? or it corresponds to non-Masters + Masters people not part of 20000?
@Rajesh
AD=Master’s or PhD, they go through Master’s Cap (20,000 visas – 95,885 applications)
The rest go through Regularr Cap (65,000 visas – 94,213 applications).
Now the math: 95885 – 20000 = 75885 AD applications will join the Regular Cap and be selected during that process.
Since we haven’t heard any updates from non-AD people, 79% of AD petitioners still have a chance to receive the notice and the update in the SEVP.
I hope this makes sense. Cheers!
Sorry if i didn’t frame my question correctly. I am aware of the 20000+65000 selection process.
If i understand your reply correctly, so far the results have been declared only for the Master’s students who were part of the 20000 pick among 95000 applicants. The remaining Master’s students and non-Master’s students will be getting details hereafter only. Is that correct?
@Rajesh I think no one is 100% certain in the timeline of the events, but I’ve been monitoring this forum since the beginning and not a single non-AD applicant reported that their SEVP got updated. This leaves to assume that those cases are processed after Master’s Cap and people will have to wait some more to see updates.
Thanks Another One. I too have been monitoring RedBus and IG forums every 10 mins. The tension is too much.
@Rajesh Just relax, and think of plan B. This is out of our control.
First attemp, AD, non-stem, finally being updated to 9/30! Basically first but also last time. I was almost losing hope this morning, but feeling very grateful that I was wrong about losing hope.
Good luck to everyone who’s still waiting, especially the last timers, I know it’s an even more difficult process for us. I’m pretty sure that USCIS will keep updating and good news is on the way.
Just fyi, my opt expires before 9/30, COS, my petition should be sent to the California center (since the company and the law firm both based in CA). I emailed my law firm before finding out my SEVP was updated, and I was told that it’s still early, and they just started receiving receipts from YESTERDAY. Please keep your hope up!
When does your OPT expire? Does it seem like they are updating the SEVP portal for the people whose VISA expires early? Like people with visa till may have their portals updated and then June and then July. Are they in order?
Hi P, mine expires in June, I’m not sure if they’re following this order. From what I’ve observed, I think it’s more like a random order.
Btw everyone, I’ve seen some people saying they received receipt, but not seen updates on SEVP. Therefore, I guess SEVP doesn’t always reflect the most updated information. Give USCIS some time.
This is literally the fifth time I am applying. Legitimate H1B Application. I haven’t heard anything from my Employer nor my Attorney and its breaking my heart.. I really had hopes..
I am asking because last year a coworker of mine got H1B and he used to say ISSS instead of DSO, because the international office at his school was called ISSS. So I assume you might have graduated from the same school in SF.
DSO is an employee at ISS (International Student Services), most of the schools that I know use the name ISS or International Office.
No,
exactly! However, a person who got H-1B at the first attempt didn’t have time enough to get into those details.
Luck is not an excuse for ignorance, more importantly, it is arrogance to assume that the person responding to you is some wretched individual hoping to extend his stay in the US by sheer luck. What if that is not the case?
As a sincere advice, try to be humble if you can and accept things gracefully. Humility goes a long way.
@No, I definitely agree with you on ignorance. However, I see no reason for that ex-coworker of mine to learn the difference between ISS and DSO. All the paperwork was prepared by a lawyer agency. Why would he even bother?
Look, I am not trying to pick a bone with you. I was just annoyed with the arrogance and hence I replied.
It doesn’t matter if someone got the H1B on the first attempt or not. Most of the international students visit ISS when they go for an internship (CPT), I-20 updates and extensions, travel signatures, even for small things such as applying for an SSN, none of which require multiple H1B petitions. There is nothing wrong if someone addresses this office as the office of DSO, there is also nothing wrong if I said that ISS is a common term, in fact, some students refer to ISS by the name of the building where it is located.
Come to think of it, it was rather unncessary from my side to have made the comment about ISS and DSO.
@No, I guess I haven’t addressed your words “it is arrogance to assume that the person responding to you is some wretched individual hoping to extend his stay in the US by sheer luck.” My main issue is that I couldn’t figure our who(?) in this case is assuming whom(?) to be “wretched individual hoping to extend his stay in the US by sheer luck”.
I applied for my STEM extension on April 15th and it is in the process my SEVP portal is showing my end date of STEM ext as 06/19/2020. If my H1 got picked will my date change to September 30th 2018?
I still haven’t received anything. nothing from attorney or employer. No SEVIS update. I am on initial OPT ending in June – No STEM. Is the game over for me?
do you happen to know whether your petition was submitted with “Consular Processing” or “Change of Status”? If it was “Consular Processing” then you will see no update in SEVP no matter the outcome of the lottery. Even on “Change of Status” applicants are still getting their SEVP entries updates. Do not lose hope.
Mine is change of status application. Master’s quota. I applied at Vermont service center. Last week I was much relaxed as Vermont center didn’t reply at all but now we are getting updates from Vermont service center as well and there is no change in my status.
Don’t worry so much. I think you will have STEM OPT available for 2 more years ( 2 chances ).
I am already on CAP_GAP with June 1 deadline. I saw the date change to 9/30 on SEVP on April 16th. But I haven’t heard anything from the attorney till now. No info on the check being cashed. And the DSO never gives out SEVIS info.
This is what is making me doubt if the date change means anything at all. Although, all the friends from my college who are in same situation as me (3rd attempt, AD, STEM expiring before 9/30), none of them have noticed a date change in their’s. I am so confused what to believe and what not to!
Never give up and never lose your hopes. 9/30 means that your petition was selected in the lottery (that’s what a lawyer in my attorney firm told me). There is a very-very low chance for your application not to be approved. Much higher chance is that your petition will be approved and your status will be changed through May-June.
Yes. The SEVP entires are still getting updated. At least yesterday there were updates.
No idea low long it might take. I would expect at least 1 week more.
I am not an expert on 1stTimer’s spouse. However, I could assume that he or she or they or used to be an AD student in the US and got SEVP account just like any other international AD student in the US.
Thank you for this information. Could you please provide a link to official source of this information?
Good luck!
Hi New_h1b
ignore Ramesh Chong..
Because of the people like him exerienced people are suffering in getting h1b.
Hi Great,
Thank you for your comment. Could you please elaborate on “Because of the people like him”? I didn’t get this one. I hope you meant only good things. I would really appreciate your reply.
Good luck!
My SEVP has changed, my wife(currently on F2) is applying for H4 with me.
Thank you for carrying about me. Since you used the term “gyan” I assume you are a highly tolerant and culturally diverse nice human being. I definitely agree with you that only knowledgeable people should reply in the serious groups. All I asked is to provide a link to the official website where it says about SEVP being terminated. All I get in response is the “F”-word from such a nice gentlemen, lady, transgender, unidentified, non-binary called Great.
Good luck!
Did you get a receipt notice for your wife? Was her h4 COS filed with you?
We didn’t got any receipt yet. Yes, H4 COS was filed together.
finally….. my employer informed me that checks were posted last night. I was really concerned all these days… People who are out there waiting to know if their H1b is picked up not. PLEASE DONT LOOSE HOPE…
I don’t have access to Sevp portal. I was about to call my DSO this morning. However, my employer informed me early this morning that checks were cashed so didn’t try calling DSO
The status on my SEVP changed to 9/30 on April 17th. But I applied STEM OPT as well. But on SEVP, a separate line was created for STEM OPT. And the line above it states” Active PostCompletion 7/X/2017-9/30/2018.” What does this indicate? My employer and lawyer haven’t updated me anything yet… finger crossed.
This question has been discussed million times in the comments below.
This means that your petition has been selected. It takes time to approve the petition (at least checking for multiple applications from the same company).
Does the time of receipt coming according to the time of cast filing? My case filed kinda late, reached in CA center after April 2nd. Does that really influence the case processing? Bless and waiting ?
Have a similar question… I think mine was delivered on April 5th… Don’t know if that affects processing time…Does the time they receive the case mean anything?
I Guess its done now …. Might as well start packing your bags … Get that last lap dance … and head back to the Devistan … You know what you will do back there right 😉
For your kind information, I am not one of the persons who filed through a typical desi consultancy. I am well qualified and my employer is ready to file a H1b on my behalf though I work from my country.
what is your EAD End date? If it’s after 9/30 you will not see any change even if your petition was selected. Good luck!
P.S.: I would strongly recommend to ignore the racist comment from “sanjhi_ram_the_rapist”. As a mixed person (half Indian, half Chinese) I do not tolerate racism in any form.
This email serves as notice that your H1B application has been selected and receipted by USCIS. What does this mean for you with your F-1 visa? This means that your H1B application receipt has been documented into your SEVIS record, and in some cases, if your OPT or STEM OPT was supposed to end sometime before October 1, 2018, your work authorization period has been extended until September 30, 2018. This is known as Cap-Gap OPT Extension. It’s automatically generated and no additional fees are needed for this.
You are still required to maintain your F-1 status until you have received the decision regarding your Change of Status. If your Change of Status has been approved before October 1, 2018, then you are required, by federal law, to follow the F-1 regulations until October 1, 2018. If your Change of Status is still pending past October 1, 2018, then you are required by federal law to follow F-1 regulations until the date of the decision has been made on your Change of Status application.
I have gone ahead and printed a new I-20 for you reflecting your H1B receipt onto your SEVIS record. Your employer may request that you provide a copy of this to them or you may be traveling. In my general experiences, students ask for the updated I-20 which is also why I have printed a new I-20 for you.
Last, but not least, as an individual who has been advising students for over 10 years, I wanted to let you know some information regarding H1B applications that has been communicated to me from immigration law firms that specifically specialize in filing H1B applications. There’s an increase with audits with H1B due to the change in focus directly from the President of the United States, on immigration. What does this mean for you?
This could mean a higher chance of two things occurring for you:
Request for Evidence from USCIS- Your employer may receive a Request for Evidence for your petition. Most of the time, these are related to your application but if the Request for Evidence requires any documentation from XXX University, please inform the XXX Office as soon as you can, so we can work with both you and your employer in getting the necessary paperwork to you since Request for Evidences always have a hard deadline by when the evidence is required to be received by. OR
Site Visits by USCIS officers or adjudicators. There’s been an increase in site visits for employers who have filed H1B petitions for their employees. Two things here: One is if you haven’t already, your employer should always provide you a copy of the entire application that was submitted on your behalf. This is important, so you understand what information was submitted for your work authorization. Two- Contact your employer’s immigration attorney to find out how you and your employer would be notified in case the employer is selected for a site visit. In most cases, you’d be notified before the site visit occurs. In most cases, employers are well aware of these possibilities but with smaller companies, the employers may not be as well versed in being prepared for potential site visits, so it’s important to be prepared ahead of time, instead of reactionary so documents are ready to be submitted. Again, if you need anything from XXX University with Site Visits, it’s best to contact our office directly so we can assess the best way to assist you.
Doesn’t this suggest that *everyone’s* status will be extended to 9/30, regardless of the lottery’s outcome? And then for those who aren’t picked, it’ll just revert back?
If you read the paragraph from which the quote is drawn, it says “once the petitioner [i.e., your employer] timely files a request to change status to H-1B on October 1, the automatic cap-gap extension will begin. If the student’s H-1B petition is selected and approved, the student’s extension of status will continue through September 30.”
So basically everyone who applied for Change of Status automatically got a cap-gap extension to the extent their work authorization expired and they hadn’t received word regarding their H1B.
Which leads me to think that if the end date on SEVP affirmatively changed to 9/30, it reflects a special change, i.e., something more than just the ordinary cap-gap that everyone automatically receives when the petition is filed.
The part with “automatic extension “ and “not selected in lottery” stand out and I agree with you that it should be for everyone. However, it is still not done for everyone. Additionally, USCIS would have to shorten the authorization if these are pre-lottery entries. Not that there is anything illegal in shortening the period and would align with what they say in the policy. I think it would really be an unnecessary exercise and waste of umpteen man hours to just fixing the statuses that may or may not need updates.
Usually, USCIS spends time prioritizing the applications that were selected and sends back the unselected petitions en mass. To me, it just seem rather doubtful that they would go through the petitions that were not selected and update the entries so that they can revert it back later. Btw, these changes are manual. My work comment was updated by a grammar nazi, to add a comma.
Well, the above could be wishful thinking or maybe it actually meant getting through the lottery. I would still wait for the notice.
I am already on CAP_GAP with June 1 deadline. I saw the date change to 9/30 on SEVP on April 16th. But I haven’t heard anything from the attorney till now. No info on the check being cashed. And the DSO never gives out SEVIS info.
This is what is making me doubt if the date change means anything at all. Although, all the friends from my college who are in same situation as me (3rd attempt, AD, STEM expiring before 9/30), none of them have noticed a date change in their’s. I am so confused what to believe and what not to!
I quote from Homeland Security:
“As an F-1 student, you may be eligible for an extension of your F-1 status through Sept. 30 if you meet the following requirements:
Your potential employer files an H-1B petition in a timely manner with USCIS with an employment start date of Oct. 1.
You are maintaining your F-1 status on the date your potential employer files your H-1B petition.
USCIS receives the H-1B petition in a timely manner and issues a receipt for it.
You may be eligible for an extension of your F-1 status and authorized period of post-completion OPT (including the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) OPT extension) in the following circumstances:
Your employer files an H-1B petition in a timely manner with USCIS with an employment start date of Oct. 1.
You are maintaining your F-1 status on the date your potential employer files your H-1B petition.
You are in an authorized period of post-completion OPT (including the STEM OPT extension) on the date your potential employer files your H-1B petition.
USCIS receives the H-1B petition in a timely manner and issues a receipt for it.”
Only selected from the lottery people will get receipts. Hence, of course, not all the statuses would be changed automatically to September 30th.
I think the article clearly states that “If the student’s H-1B petition is selected and approved, the student’s extension of status will continue through September 30”. I wish I could make ‘selected and approved’ bold here.
I have been struggling after seeing his comment yesterday. But to those who’s SEVP portal got updated to 9/30/18, my lawyer gave me the receipt three days after my SEVP portal updated. I hope it’ll make you feel better. Calm down.
Thanks, but I think all of our collective angst come from the second sentence, which qualifies the first by saying any “extension” can be revoked if the H1-B isn’t selected.
It’s kind of weird that an extension would be granted and then revoked, and it also implies that a granted extension doesn’t mean anything if it can just be revoked later.
I am also hanging my hat on the words you wish you could bold, so don’t worry, people are definitely seeing them even though you didn’t bold them haha
Miao,
It need not be approved, even if the petition is in Pending state, it will still be extended till Sep 30. See screenshots in article and links for SEVP reference.
Not exactly. If you are picked in lottery, then it will be until 9/30. But, let’s say the petition is denied for some reason before that, then the extension may change back ( hoping systems work together). Irrespective of the changes to SEVP, if you get denial notice, you need to act quick and move to avoid out of status issues.
The Lawyer firm that is handling my application told me that the Update that I saw on SEVP was not a definitive signal regarding H1-B lottery selection, and that we should wait for a receipt to confirm that I was selected in the lottery. While it is comforting that my date was updated to Sep 30th, I’m wondering where is this information that Update = Lottery Selection is coming from. Is there an official source that can confirm that this is actually a thing? Or are we just all speculating here?
With regards to change in “SEVP Portal OPT End Date Changes for Cap Gap Students – Lottery Selected ?”, under H1B is filed, what if my Active STEM period end date is the actual end date, i.e., 2/15/2019. Does this mean that the application is not filed? But my employer is filed my application.
Did not hear anything from Lawyer /DSO/Sevs Portal. Not even one of my master friend get notification receipt so far. Is this normal? OPT ends 2018/05/14.
Not in your SEVP portal AFAIK, the portal will be updated only if your OPT or your STEM OPT expires before Sept 30 2018. Else, it will still remain the same, and you need to wait for an update from your Attorney.
or any new updated since friday ? I guess most of them got their updates on friday. Just curious to know if anyone has heard their dates changing today ?
Maybe all ADs are done and they will finally start updating for those ADs and non-ADs who made it through in the second lottery. 65,000 is quite a lot, but who knows . . .
Finally got an update from employer that check got encashed. Also checked with DSO and got the receipt number starting with EAC. Second attempt. opt ends in june next year. So no update in SEVP portal.
When you people mention non-AD, are you referring to someone who is never part of “Masters” quota? If AD is processed first and if non-AD results start to arrive, does it indicate end for those who applied under AD quota?
I don’t know how people are getting confirmation from their DSO’s regarding the receipt notice. My university emailed me saying that they don’t know anything about change of status
I think it depends on the size of the school. Georgia Tech is huge. My school also has like 20k students, and my DSO does not tell me anything as well.
Nice! congrats. Even I have relation to field change. I am hopeful now. lol!
Let’s see if i get it too! Got the same relation to field update last week
@Confused Soul, so you were saying you saw update in your history tab in the relation to field area correct? and then no updates on the SEVP employment tab? and then you received the case number? Also, what is your OPT end date?
Thanks
Never mind, saw your post on the previous thread, thanks for your information and congrats 🙂
My OPT end date updated from 05/31/2018 to 09/30/2018. I can see this update under the History tab.
Under Employment tab this update is happened on active employment list item. However if I expand open (By clicking + symbol) this active employment list item, then expand my “Employers” option by clicking + symbol I still see the end date as 05/31/2018. This is an editable field that I can edit I guess, but didn’t do. Do you guys know what’s going on?
Will the OPT end date be updated for students who are under cap gap only? My DSO confirmed change of status but my portal says nothing as such. My OPT expires this December. I don’t see anything in “History” section too
No Update from attroney, DSO, SEVP Portal. Loosing Hope day by day. This is my final attempt. Not sure what to do.
We have 5 to 7 business days to check for SEVP changes, I think. After that, we need to be extremely lucky.
Is there any update in sevp portal ?even current stem extension end date is sep 2019?Any one pls let me know
Same question. My OPT does not expire until next year. on April 10th relation to field got updated under history tab. The update is from Sevis. But, at the same time my OPT extension got approved. So, I don’t know if it is related to h1 or not.
What is relation to field update you got ?
I don’t think it is H1b related as the lottery is not even done on the 10th
Just got a update from DSO.Got the receipt number from DSO.Stem end date 09/2019 but no update on SEVP Portal.
Anyone who got H1b Receipt but there was no change on SEVP Portal yet and their OPT was expiring before 30th Sept,2018.
I checked with DSO and got a response that there is no change in SEVIS. So is it end of the H1B story for me this year.
I am with you. This is my last chance.
I hold an AD and my STEM OPT expires September 13, 2018 (this year’s my last chance). SEVP portal has not been updated.
Does this mean that I have not been selected? If not, please explain…
Thanks!
May 3rd
https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-completes-data-entry-fiscal-year-2018-h-1b-cap-subject-petitions
Data Entry had always been completed on May 2nd, so I think for non-STEM like me, we have 5 business days left to see changes in SEVP.
Last year it was May 5th
It was May 3rd
4/20 – SEVP got updated
4/24 – Received receipt
Good luck y’all!!!
May I know which center ?California or Vermont?
Congratulations Mohli!!!
Does receipt number indicate that H1B was selected?
Congrats. When does your OPT expire?
I received the notice, but no update on my SEVP portal account. Just checked.
When does your OPT/STEM Extension expire?
Is your OPT end date before 30th Sept,2018 ?
Did your filing fees check got en-cashed?
Hi,
Any non AD non STEM got a sevp update ? E.g: bachelor degree in Business
Thanks
Hi every one ,
Just one question.did any one Sevis updated in Sevp portal ?For stem extenision end date is after 2019?
Why would it get updated when you already have employment until 2019?
My Step OPT expires after 09/30, but my sevp also got updated with change in “Relation to ” field in employer section. But i have not heard anything yet from the lawyers. Is anyone on the same boat ?
For anyone who’s current working out of country, but had AD degree from US before. Does it influence the case processing? Thanks!
Why should it?
Hi Everyone,
Very useful comments.
I am on initial 12 month OPT with end date as January. So i haven’t got any SEVP portal updates.
I emailed my DSO and they gave a standard reply that there are no updates and check with Employer.
Does this mean mine was not selected?
Is there still a chance that it might get picket in the lottery?
Thanks
Wait until mid-May
No, there is still time, just wait…some of these things take time…Until you see a reject letter, you cannot be sure that you were not selected.
Is CA usually slower than Vermont center? My company is in GA, but the lawyer filed my case to CA? Don’t know why .
Last year starting in october, USCIS mentioned that states- FL, GA, Texas and couple of others should file to California Service Center
Vermont center is the slowest. ?
If you have master’s degree and OPT expiring before 30th September 2018 and your visa is picked up in general quote, will SEVP portal be updated?
Yes.
For those whose OPT expires after 09/30, the only option of knowing are DSO and attorney? SEVP isn’t useful, right?
Anyone got their SEVP Portal updated today?
Apparently a lot of them.
Mine updated today at 1.10pm after I emailed SEVIS help desk on Monday asking about my status. So seems they are still entering data.
This means they are still entering the data. Still Hoping then.
My Authorized End Date was extended to September 30th on Tuesday, April 17 on SEVP portal. Fragomen received my receipt today, April 24. Case was processed in the CA center. This was my 3rd & final attempt, ADV. Good luck to the rest of the applicants.
Congratulations. When was your OPT expiring?
End of June 2018
Which fragomen branch?
I saw the date change on SEVP on April 16. I haven’t heard from fragomen (Boston branch) yet.
One of the California branches
Hi guys you can definitely rely on SEVP portal.My OPT was extended to 09/30 and I got my receipt today.
All the best to everyone.
@Third Time Lucky congrats !! Vermont or CA?
when was sevp updated?
SEVP was updated on 04/20 at 5 pm EST.California
@Third Time Lucky, congrats! Tonight I am celebrating four fresh H-1B holders from this discussion!
Congrats. When does your OPt expire?
I got receipt notice today, AD here. I checked the SEVP portal and there were no updates on it (none under history section either). For those worrying about that, don’t lose hope.
@AKM congrats!! vermont or CA?
Congrats! When does your OPT expire?
When is your OPT expiring? It won’t get updated if its after Sept 30, 2018.
When was your OPT expiring initially ?
Hi, what was the last updated date on you portal.
Opt expires in Jan ’19. And the last update was on 3/26 that was an address change from my end.
By receipt you mean you got your receipt number or a notification saying your case was selected?
My DSO also said that my case shows pending status when he checked on SEVP portal. Not really sure as what it means
Are these updates to the SEVP portal only for the CAP-GAP cases or rest of the regular master’s CAP cases as well ? My Post completion OPT expires 05/18 and I have applied for my STEM OPT to start immediately after that. Wondering if it’ll update for my case if my application gets picked.
Lawyer notified me that they received the receipt. I am a AD OPT first timer. My SEVP portal was updated on the 4/20.
I’m pretty sure SEVP portal is a good indicator of whether you get selected or not.
Thanks. It’s completely unrelated but what happens to your STEM OPT status in this case ? Do they reject it ? approve it ? approve it with start date after 30 Sep ?
@AKM congrats!! vermont or CA?
Finally got the update from the lawyer with the receipt notice. SEVP updated on 4/17 so it took some time. Going to contact DSO and ask for the new I-20. AD, STEM, first and last time, Vermont.
Good luck everyone! And don’t loose hope. Think about it: we haven’t heard from anyone from Regular Cap about SEVP update. And numerically, more AD people will go through Regular Cap tham Master’s. So everyone still has a chance.
Cheers! 🙂
Hi Another One,
congrats! I will be celebrating tonight your success, as well as that of other applicants on this discussion.
Good luck!
@Ramesh Chong Thanks!
Congrats 🙂
” more AD people will go through Regular Cap tham Master’s” – Can you please provide more information on this?
Does non-AD refer to non-Masters people only ? or it corresponds to non-Masters + Masters people not part of 20000?
There are 95k ADs, and there are 20k AD slots. Therefore, the 75k ADs leftover should go to non-AD. You can check the number in the USCIS website.
@Rajesh
AD=Master’s or PhD, they go through Master’s Cap (20,000 visas – 95,885 applications)
The rest go through Regularr Cap (65,000 visas – 94,213 applications).
Now the math: 95885 – 20000 = 75885 AD applications will join the Regular Cap and be selected during that process.
Since we haven’t heard any updates from non-AD people, 79% of AD petitioners still have a chance to receive the notice and the update in the SEVP.
I hope this makes sense. Cheers!
Hi Packing AD and Another One,
Sorry if i didn’t frame my question correctly. I am aware of the 20000+65000 selection process.
If i understand your reply correctly, so far the results have been declared only for the Master’s students who were part of the 20000 pick among 95000 applicants. The remaining Master’s students and non-Master’s students will be getting details hereafter only. Is that correct?
@Rajesh I think no one is 100% certain in the timeline of the events, but I’ve been monitoring this forum since the beginning and not a single non-AD applicant reported that their SEVP got updated. This leaves to assume that those cases are processed after Master’s Cap and people will have to wait some more to see updates.
Thanks Another One. I too have been monitoring RedBus and IG forums every 10 mins. The tension is too much.
@Rajesh Just relax, and think of plan B. This is out of our control.
First attemp, AD, non-stem, finally being updated to 9/30! Basically first but also last time. I was almost losing hope this morning, but feeling very grateful that I was wrong about losing hope.
Good luck to everyone who’s still waiting, especially the last timers, I know it’s an even more difficult process for us. I’m pretty sure that USCIS will keep updating and good news is on the way.
Just fyi, my opt expires before 9/30, COS, my petition should be sent to the California center (since the company and the law firm both based in CA). I emailed my law firm before finding out my SEVP was updated, and I was told that it’s still early, and they just started receiving receipts from YESTERDAY. Please keep your hope up!
Congrats 🙂 Did your SEVP get updated today only? What time?
Yes it’s updated today. On 11:10am PT 🙂
Hi FinallyUpdated,
congrats, congrats, congrats!!!
Thank you Ramesh and your nice words to everyone who’s still waiting! :)))
FinallyUpdated,
you don’t need any nice words anymore :)))!
When does your OPT expire? Does it seem like they are updating the SEVP portal for the people whose VISA expires early? Like people with visa till may have their portals updated and then June and then July. Are they in order?
Hi P, mine expires in June, I’m not sure if they’re following this order. From what I’ve observed, I think it’s more like a random order.
Btw everyone, I’ve seen some people saying they received receipt, but not seen updates on SEVP. Therefore, I guess SEVP doesn’t always reflect the most updated information. Give USCIS some time.
Thanks. That helps.
This is literally the fifth time I am applying. Legitimate H1B Application. I haven’t heard anything from my Employer nor my Attorney and its breaking my heart.. I really had hopes..
Hi Aveeno,
it is too early to lose hope. SEVP profiles are still being updated. The first checks are being cashed. Wait at least till mid May.
Good luck!
My SEVP Portal is not updated. The initial OPT end date is still 4th June,2018. Should I stop hoping now?
Not yet but thinking of plan B is not a bad idea.
Yep. Go back.
Pinky, don’t stop hoping!
SEVP entries are still being updated.
If your petition is “Consular Processing” then you will get no update.
My Petition is not Consular processing. It’s “Change of Status”. 🙁
Pinky,
SEVP entries are still updated. Someone posted here about an update from today. Don’t lose hope.
Is this your last chance?
After many years, it’s probably my time to go home.
Do not give up! Hope for the best! Good luck!
They are still updating SEVP for AD today. Cap-gap updated to 9/30 at 2:03 PM Eastern. Non-STEM AD probably Vermont Center.
Hi ISSS,
Have you graduate from a university in San Francisco?
Congrats on SEVP update!
Thanks! No I did not.
I am asking because last year a coworker of mine got H1B and he used to say ISSS instead of DSO, because the international office at his school was called ISSS. So I assume you might have graduated from the same school in SF.
Good luck!
DSO is an employee at ISS (International Student Services), most of the schools that I know use the name ISS or International Office.
No,
exactly! However, a person who got H-1B at the first attempt didn’t have time enough to get into those details.
Luck is not an excuse for ignorance, more importantly, it is arrogance to assume that the person responding to you is some wretched individual hoping to extend his stay in the US by sheer luck. What if that is not the case?
As a sincere advice, try to be humble if you can and accept things gracefully. Humility goes a long way.
@No, I definitely agree with you on ignorance. However, I see no reason for that ex-coworker of mine to learn the difference between ISS and DSO. All the paperwork was prepared by a lawyer agency. Why would he even bother?
Look, I am not trying to pick a bone with you. I was just annoyed with the arrogance and hence I replied.
It doesn’t matter if someone got the H1B on the first attempt or not. Most of the international students visit ISS when they go for an internship (CPT), I-20 updates and extensions, travel signatures, even for small things such as applying for an SSN, none of which require multiple H1B petitions. There is nothing wrong if someone addresses this office as the office of DSO, there is also nothing wrong if I said that ISS is a common term, in fact, some students refer to ISS by the name of the building where it is located.
Come to think of it, it was rather unncessary from my side to have made the comment about ISS and DSO.
@No, I guess I haven’t addressed your words “it is arrogance to assume that the person responding to you is some wretched individual hoping to extend his stay in the US by sheer luck.” My main issue is that I couldn’t figure our who(?) in this case is assuming whom(?) to be “wretched individual hoping to extend his stay in the US by sheer luck”.
I applied for my STEM extension on April 15th and it is in the process my SEVP portal is showing my end date of STEM ext as 06/19/2020. If my H1 got picked will my date change to September 30th 2018?
Did anyone received h1b receipt notice?
I still haven’t received anything. nothing from attorney or employer. No SEVIS update. I am on initial OPT ending in June – No STEM. Is the game over for me?
Hi h1bquery,
do you happen to know whether your petition was submitted with “Consular Processing” or “Change of Status”? If it was “Consular Processing” then you will see no update in SEVP no matter the outcome of the lottery. Even on “Change of Status” applicants are still getting their SEVP entries updates. Do not lose hope.
Good luck!
Mine is change of status application. Master’s quota. I applied at Vermont service center. Last week I was much relaxed as Vermont center didn’t reply at all but now we are getting updates from Vermont service center as well and there is no change in my status.
h1bquery, don’t lose hope. SEVIS is still updating End Dates.
My end date in SEVP is still 07/02 which is the end date of my OPT. Do we still stand a chance? (1st attempt, AD)
You still have two more chances!
I mean in this lottery to be picked?
Don’t worry so much. I think you will have STEM OPT available for 2 more years ( 2 chances ).
I am already on CAP_GAP with June 1 deadline. I saw the date change to 9/30 on SEVP on April 16th. But I haven’t heard anything from the attorney till now. No info on the check being cashed. And the DSO never gives out SEVIS info.
This is what is making me doubt if the date change means anything at all. Although, all the friends from my college who are in same situation as me (3rd attempt, AD, STEM expiring before 9/30), none of them have noticed a date change in their’s. I am so confused what to believe and what not to!
Hi Confused,
Never give up and never lose your hopes. 9/30 means that your petition was selected in the lottery (that’s what a lawyer in my attorney firm told me). There is a very-very low chance for your application not to be approved. Much higher chance is that your petition will be approved and your status will be changed through May-June.
Good luck!
Are they still getting updated? If yes, then any idea on how long this process goes on?
Hi Jay,
Yes. The SEVP entires are still getting updated. At least yesterday there were updates.
No idea low long it might take. I would expect at least 1 week more.
Good luck!
Hi Ramesh,
Thank you for the quick response. Fingers crossed!
Check for my wife(H4) is posted today, SEVP was changed yesterday.
if ur wife is on H4 , how come she has sevp record access ?
Hi NEW_H1B,
I am not an expert on 1stTimer’s spouse. However, I could assume that he or she or they or used to be an AD student in the US and got SEVP account just like any other international AD student in the US.
Ramesh Chong ,
If F1 student get’s H4 EAD , his/her SEVP would be terminated abruptly .
NEW_H1B,
Thank you for this information. Could you please provide a link to official source of this information?
Good luck!
Hi New_h1b
ignore Ramesh Chong..
Because of the people like him exerienced people are suffering in getting h1b.
Hi Great,
Thank you for your comment. Could you please elaborate on “Because of the people like him”? I didn’t get this one. I hope you meant only good things. I would really appreciate your reply.
Good luck!
My SEVP has changed, my wife(currently on F2) is applying for H4 with me.
HI 1st timer.
Hi Great,
Thank you for carrying about me. Since you used the term “gyan” I assume you are a highly tolerant and culturally diverse nice human being. I definitely agree with you that only knowledgeable people should reply in the serious groups. All I asked is to provide a link to the official website where it says about SEVP being terminated. All I get in response is the “F”-word from such a nice gentlemen, lady, transgender, unidentified, non-binary called Great.
Good luck!
Did you get a receipt notice for your wife? Was her h4 COS filed with you?
We didn’t got any receipt yet. Yes, H4 COS was filed together.
finally….. my employer informed me that checks were posted last night. I was really concerned all these days… People who are out there waiting to know if their H1b is picked up not. PLEASE DONT LOOSE HOPE…
@3rd attempt,
Vermont or California Center?
california
R u AD ?
Yes, I am on AD
Do you see any update on SEVP Portal.
Hi 3rd attempt,
Congrtz !!! Can I know if there is any update on ur sevp for authorization end date. If so, when was it updated ??
I don’t have access to Sevp portal. I was about to call my DSO this morning. However, my employer informed me early this morning that checks were cashed so didn’t try calling DSO
Hey guys,
The status on my SEVP changed to 9/30 on April 17th. But I applied STEM OPT as well. But on SEVP, a separate line was created for STEM OPT. And the line above it states” Active PostCompletion 7/X/2017-9/30/2018.” What does this indicate? My employer and lawyer haven’t updated me anything yet… finger crossed.
This question has been discussed million times in the comments below.
This means that your petition has been selected. It takes time to approve the petition (at least checking for multiple applications from the same company).
Hey Ramesh,
I just got updated from USCIS that I got receipt for OPT…. now its like so much going on…lol…
Does the time of receipt coming according to the time of cast filing? My case filed kinda late, reached in CA center after April 2nd. Does that really influence the case processing? Bless and waiting ?
It doesn’t. The lottery happened long after April 2nd. This means that your application took part in the lottery.
Have a similar question… I think mine was delivered on April 5th… Don’t know if that affects processing time…Does the time they receive the case mean anything?
Hi WaitingSincerely,
it potentially might affect waiting time. However it definitely does NOT affect the chances to be selected in the lottery.
Good luck!
AD/CSC last attempt. No SEVP update/No check encashment/No sign from DSO.
Should I still hope or is it done?
I Guess its done now …. Might as well start packing your bags … Get that last lap dance … and head back to the Devistan … You know what you will do back there right 😉
For your kind information, I am not one of the persons who filed through a typical desi consultancy. I am well qualified and my employer is ready to file a H1b on my behalf though I work from my country.
Hi Hope,
what is your EAD End date? If it’s after 9/30 you will not see any change even if your petition was selected. Good luck!
P.S.: I would strongly recommend to ignore the racist comment from “sanjhi_ram_the_rapist”. As a mixed person (half Indian, half Chinese) I do not tolerate racism in any form.
Mine ends before Sept 30th. I am kind of worried now as most of the people already have positive news.
Hi Hope,
by “CSC” do you mean “CoS” (Change of Status)?
California Service Center
This is what my DSO sent me.
Good Morning!
This email serves as notice that your H1B application has been selected and receipted by USCIS. What does this mean for you with your F-1 visa? This means that your H1B application receipt has been documented into your SEVIS record, and in some cases, if your OPT or STEM OPT was supposed to end sometime before October 1, 2018, your work authorization period has been extended until September 30, 2018. This is known as Cap-Gap OPT Extension. It’s automatically generated and no additional fees are needed for this.
You are still required to maintain your F-1 status until you have received the decision regarding your Change of Status. If your Change of Status has been approved before October 1, 2018, then you are required, by federal law, to follow the F-1 regulations until October 1, 2018. If your Change of Status is still pending past October 1, 2018, then you are required by federal law to follow F-1 regulations until the date of the decision has been made on your Change of Status application.
I have gone ahead and printed a new I-20 for you reflecting your H1B receipt onto your SEVIS record. Your employer may request that you provide a copy of this to them or you may be traveling. In my general experiences, students ask for the updated I-20 which is also why I have printed a new I-20 for you.
Last, but not least, as an individual who has been advising students for over 10 years, I wanted to let you know some information regarding H1B applications that has been communicated to me from immigration law firms that specifically specialize in filing H1B applications. There’s an increase with audits with H1B due to the change in focus directly from the President of the United States, on immigration. What does this mean for you?
This could mean a higher chance of two things occurring for you:
Request for Evidence from USCIS- Your employer may receive a Request for Evidence for your petition. Most of the time, these are related to your application but if the Request for Evidence requires any documentation from XXX University, please inform the XXX Office as soon as you can, so we can work with both you and your employer in getting the necessary paperwork to you since Request for Evidences always have a hard deadline by when the evidence is required to be received by. OR
Site Visits by USCIS officers or adjudicators. There’s been an increase in site visits for employers who have filed H1B petitions for their employees. Two things here: One is if you haven’t already, your employer should always provide you a copy of the entire application that was submitted on your behalf. This is important, so you understand what information was submitted for your work authorization. Two- Contact your employer’s immigration attorney to find out how you and your employer would be notified in case the employer is selected for a site visit. In most cases, you’d be notified before the site visit occurs. In most cases, employers are well aware of these possibilities but with smaller companies, the employers may not be as well versed in being prepared for potential site visits, so it’s important to be prepared ahead of time, instead of reactionary so documents are ready to be submitted. Again, if you need anything from XXX University with Site Visits, it’s best to contact our office directly so we can assess the best way to assist you.
I’m bumping this comment from the last page because it wasn’t really addressed but kind of cuts against this article and what everyone’s been saying.
@Kumar or other knowledgeable folks, can you clarify:
“What do people think of this? Mainly the ‘not selected’ part… I’m worried that SEVP extensions don’t mean what we think they do.
“The extension of status will automatically terminate if the student’s H-1B petition is denied, withdrawn, revoked, rejected, or is not selected”
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/extension-post-completion-optional-practical-training-opt-and-f-1-status-eligible-students-under-h-1b-cap-gap-regulations”
Doesn’t this suggest that *everyone’s* status will be extended to 9/30, regardless of the lottery’s outcome? And then for those who aren’t picked, it’ll just revert back?
If you read the paragraph from which the quote is drawn, it says “once the petitioner [i.e., your employer] timely files a request to change status to H-1B on October 1, the automatic cap-gap extension will begin. If the student’s H-1B petition is selected and approved, the student’s extension of status will continue through September 30.”
So basically everyone who applied for Change of Status automatically got a cap-gap extension to the extent their work authorization expired and they hadn’t received word regarding their H1B.
Which leads me to think that if the end date on SEVP affirmatively changed to 9/30, it reflects a special change, i.e., something more than just the ordinary cap-gap that everyone automatically receives when the petition is filed.
But who knows. I’m tired of speculating.
The part with “automatic extension “ and “not selected in lottery” stand out and I agree with you that it should be for everyone. However, it is still not done for everyone. Additionally, USCIS would have to shorten the authorization if these are pre-lottery entries. Not that there is anything illegal in shortening the period and would align with what they say in the policy. I think it would really be an unnecessary exercise and waste of umpteen man hours to just fixing the statuses that may or may not need updates.
Usually, USCIS spends time prioritizing the applications that were selected and sends back the unselected petitions en mass. To me, it just seem rather doubtful that they would go through the petitions that were not selected and update the entries so that they can revert it back later. Btw, these changes are manual. My work comment was updated by a grammar nazi, to add a comma.
Well, the above could be wishful thinking or maybe it actually meant getting through the lottery. I would still wait for the notice.
I agree, but then there are stories of people whose SEVPs were updated but who still haven’t received official notice yet.
This back and forth really isn’t good for my goal of avoiding a heart attack before 30 lol
I am already on CAP_GAP with June 1 deadline. I saw the date change to 9/30 on SEVP on April 16th. But I haven’t heard anything from the attorney till now. No info on the check being cashed. And the DSO never gives out SEVIS info.
This is what is making me doubt if the date change means anything at all. Although, all the friends from my college who are in same situation as me (3rd attempt, AD, STEM expiring before 9/30), none of them have noticed a date change in their’s. I am so confused what to believe and what not to!
I quote from Homeland Security:
“As an F-1 student, you may be eligible for an extension of your F-1 status through Sept. 30 if you meet the following requirements:
Your potential employer files an H-1B petition in a timely manner with USCIS with an employment start date of Oct. 1.
You are maintaining your F-1 status on the date your potential employer files your H-1B petition.
USCIS receives the H-1B petition in a timely manner and issues a receipt for it.
You may be eligible for an extension of your F-1 status and authorized period of post-completion OPT (including the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) OPT extension) in the following circumstances:
Your employer files an H-1B petition in a timely manner with USCIS with an employment start date of Oct. 1.
You are maintaining your F-1 status on the date your potential employer files your H-1B petition.
You are in an authorized period of post-completion OPT (including the STEM OPT extension) on the date your potential employer files your H-1B petition.
USCIS receives the H-1B petition in a timely manner and issues a receipt for it.”
Only selected from the lottery people will get receipts. Hence, of course, not all the statuses would be changed automatically to September 30th.
Here is a page by Udub International office that backs the june 1 and September 30 theory. Yet, it is not an official document by USCIS.
https://iss.washington.edu/employment/h1b-extension/
I think the article clearly states that “If the student’s H-1B petition is selected and approved, the student’s extension of status will continue through September 30”. I wish I could make ‘selected and approved’ bold here.
I have been struggling after seeing his comment yesterday. But to those who’s SEVP portal got updated to 9/30/18, my lawyer gave me the receipt three days after my SEVP portal updated. I hope it’ll make you feel better. Calm down.
Thanks, but I think all of our collective angst come from the second sentence, which qualifies the first by saying any “extension” can be revoked if the H1-B isn’t selected.
It’s kind of weird that an extension would be granted and then revoked, and it also implies that a granted extension doesn’t mean anything if it can just be revoked later.
I am also hanging my hat on the words you wish you could bold, so don’t worry, people are definitely seeing them even though you didn’t bold them haha
When was your date changed on SEVP
Miao,
It need not be approved, even if the petition is in Pending state, it will still be extended till Sep 30. See screenshots in article and links for SEVP reference.
Not exactly. If you are picked in lottery, then it will be until 9/30. But, let’s say the petition is denied for some reason before that, then the extension may change back ( hoping systems work together). Irrespective of the changes to SEVP, if you get denial notice, you need to act quick and move to avoid out of status issues.
My portal just updated to 9/30 at 5:31 pm New York time. Still no word from my employer regarding any receipt or anything like that
AD, no clue which service center.
The Lawyer firm that is handling my application told me that the Update that I saw on SEVP was not a definitive signal regarding H1-B lottery selection, and that we should wait for a receipt to confirm that I was selected in the lottery. While it is comforting that my date was updated to Sep 30th, I’m wondering where is this information that Update = Lottery Selection is coming from. Is there an official source that can confirm that this is actually a thing? Or are we just all speculating here?
My SEVP portal was updated on 4/20, and I got my receipt on 4/23.
Don’t worry you’ll get it.
With regards to change in “SEVP Portal OPT End Date Changes for Cap Gap Students – Lottery Selected ?”, under H1B is filed, what if my Active STEM period end date is the actual end date, i.e., 2/15/2019. Does this mean that the application is not filed? But my employer is filed my application.
That doesn’t mean anything. You just need to wait for your lawyer to get back to you.
Mine shows 07/02/2018. No change that is my actual OPT end date. My employer says they applied for H1. So what does this mean?
Means we don’t know yet. You need to wait for the portal to get updated or the lawyer to reach back to you.
Ok.Thank u for the reply 🙂
The portal will be updated only if your OPT or your STEM OPT expires before Sept 30 2018.
Thank you!
Did not hear anything from Lawyer /DSO/Sevs Portal. Not even one of my master friend get notification receipt so far. Is this normal? OPT ends 2018/05/14.
What if you OPT ends in December, will it get cut short?
Yes.
You lose all your unused OPT. Unless you decide to study and use OPT once again a few years later.
Not in your SEVP portal AFAIK, the portal will be updated only if your OPT or your STEM OPT expires before Sept 30 2018. Else, it will still remain the same, and you need to wait for an update from your Attorney.
Any sevp updates on 4/23?
or any new updated since friday ? I guess most of them got their updates on friday. Just curious to know if anyone has heard their dates changing today ?
Maybe all ADs are done and they will finally start updating for those ADs and non-ADs who made it through in the second lottery. 65,000 is quite a lot, but who knows . . .
My authorized end date is just updated (4/23/2018 16:37 CDT) from 07/11 to 09/30.
AD. Vermont
Hi Is the date changing at once for all or it is updating on different days for each candidate
Finally got an update from employer that check got encashed. Also checked with DSO and got the receipt number starting with EAC. Second attempt. opt ends in june next year. So no update in SEVP portal.
Did you DSO provide you with your receipt number?
Did you check the history on SEVP portal? Any recent changes there from SEVIS end?
Yes DSO gave me the number. And no updates on sevp.
Is anyone able to log in the SEVP portal right now? Its giving Network error for me.
mee too
Mine as well.
same
its back up!
Same here.
Had the same issue 10 minutes ago.
When you people mention non-AD, are you referring to someone who is never part of “Masters” quota? If AD is processed first and if non-AD results start to arrive, does it indicate end for those who applied under AD quota?
I don’t know how people are getting confirmation from their DSO’s regarding the receipt notice. My university emailed me saying that they don’t know anything about change of status
https://ibb.co/fkJPpH
I think it depends on the size of the school. Georgia Tech is huge. My school also has like 20k students, and my DSO does not tell me anything as well.
same here
My lawyer just sent me receipt notice with Case number. I guess there is hope for me after all.
Nice! congrats. Even I have relation to field change. I am hopeful now. lol!
Let’s see if i get it too! Got the same relation to field update last week
@Confused Soul, so you were saying you saw update in your history tab in the relation to field area correct? and then no updates on the SEVP employment tab? and then you received the case number? Also, what is your OPT end date?
Thanks
Never mind, saw your post on the previous thread, thanks for your information and congrats 🙂
My OPT end date updated from 05/31/2018 to 09/30/2018. I can see this update under the History tab.
Under Employment tab this update is happened on active employment list item. However if I expand open (By clicking + symbol) this active employment list item, then expand my “Employers” option by clicking + symbol I still see the end date as 05/31/2018. This is an editable field that I can edit I guess, but didn’t do. Do you guys know what’s going on?
@RTondya – If the source of that update is SEVIS, one can be fairly sure that you made it. When did this update took place, though?
Will the OPT end date be updated for students who are under cap gap only? My DSO confirmed change of status but my portal says nothing as such. My OPT expires this December. I don’t see anything in “History” section too