The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a new rule, effective May 10, 2016, allowing foreign national students with Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) degrees to apply for an additional 24 months of Optional Practice Training (OPT) work authorization.
This new rule may be of particular value since the new 2017 Fiscal Year H-1B petitions, which are currently being prepared for the April 2016 filing, are expected to once again significantly exceed the number of available petition approvals.
For more information on this new rule, please see https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sevp-stem-opt.