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Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Over 69,000 Indian students face deportation risk as US tightens OPT unemployment rules
A wave of uncertainty has swept across the international student community in the US as thousands of students on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program have started receiving warning letters from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The letters threaten termination of their SEVIS records and potential deportation due to alleged violations of employment reporting rules. This enforcement action significantly impacts Indian students, who form the second-largest group of international students in the US. According to the Open Doors Report for the 2022-23 academic year, there were 270,000 Indian students in the US, with nearly 69,000 of them participating in the OPT program. These students now face the risk of losing their legal status due to administrative lapses in reporting employment details. Stricter OPT enforcement leads to legal consequences At the heart of the issue is the strict enforcement of existing OPT unemployment rules. OPT regulations allow international students to remain unemployed for up to 90 days during their 12-month OPT period. Those on a STEM-OPT extension are granted an additional 60 days. Students are required to update their employment status on the SEVIS portal within 10 days of any change, including a new job, job loss, or change in work location. As reported by the TNN, immigration attorney Snehal Batra of NPZ Law Group said, 'The recent ICE letters indicate that a student's SEVIS record will be terminated if there is no employer information listed. This means the student either failed to report the OPT job on time or exceeded the allowed unemployment period.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Batra added that, in the past, SEVIS records were not typically terminated automatically for such violations, but under the current administration's strict approach, students can fall out of status more easily. Letters mirror past policy under Trump-Pence administration The wording in the current ICE letters reportedly mirrors those issued in 2020 during the Trump-Pence administration. As per the TNN, experts note a visible uptick in the number of such letters now being sent, indicating renewed focus on enforcement under the Trump presidency. A sample letter viewed by the TNN states, 'Because there is no employer information in your SEVIS record, you are accumulating unemployment days and may have exceeded the permissible period of unemployment. ' The letter further warns students to correct their SEVIS records within 15 days or face immigration proceedings. Schools and DSOs under pressure Traditionally, compliance with SEVIS reporting was managed by the Designated School Officials (DSOs). However, as per immigration lawyer Jath Shao, quoted by the TNN, 'ICE has been going in and terminating people who have accumulated more than 90 days of unemployment.' He added that in some instances, the failure to update SEVIS was due to delays by DSOs, though US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reinstated student status once records were corrected. Advisories issued and guidance to students The NAFSA: Association of International Educators has issued a special advisory, urging DSOs to monitor 'Accrued unemployment days' alerts and to actively follow up with students nearing their unemployment limits. It also reminds students to promptly update employment details via the SEVIS portal or through their school DSO. Poovi Chothani, managing partner at LawQuest, advised, as reported by the TNN, that students nearing their limit should consider legal alternatives such as leaving the US, enrolling in a new program, or applying for a different visa status like B-2. Batra also recommended, 'Students should maintain written records of all employment, including employer name, job title, dates of work, hours, and supervisor details,' which could support future visa or status change applications, as noted by the TNN.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
OPT visa rules tightened for international students: Inaccurate employment can now result in deportation
Many international students on OPT in the U.S., including thousands from India, are receiving ICE letters warning of SEVIS record termination and possible deportation due to missing employer information. Students must update SEVIS within 10 days of employment changes. With stricter enforcement now in place, even unreported jobs or DSO errors can trigger immigration consequences. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Thousands of international students in the US on post-graduation Optional Practical Training (OPT) are receiving warning letters from the country's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), threatening termination of their SEVIS records and potential deportation over employment reporting issues, according to a report by TOI's Lubna core of the issue lies in the reporting of employment status within the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). OPT regulations grant students a maximum of 90 days of unemployment during their twelve-month program. Another 60 days are available to those undertaking the STEM-OPT program for an additional two years.'The recent ICE letters indicate that an international student's SEVIS record will be terminated if there is no employer information listed on the SEVIS portal. This signifies that the student did not report the OPT job on time or went over the allowed unemployment period, either of which can result in a termination of OPT status and initiation of removal proceedings,' Snehal Batra, managing attorney at NPZ Law Group told TOI.'This is a pretty big change for F-1 students. In the past, SEVIS did not usually terminate SEVIS records automatically for exceeding 90 days of unemployment. But now, with tighter rules, students could accidentally fall out of status for failure to report,' she per immigration attorneys, OPT reporting rules require SEVIS to be updated within ten days of any change, be it a new job, new work site location, or loss of employment.A copy of such a letter, seen by TOI states, 'Because there is no employer information in your SEVIS record, you are accumulating unemployment days and may have exceeded the permissible period of unemployment. If you have been employed during your OPT time, you must correct your SEVIS record. Please contact your Designated School Official (DSO) or utilize the SEVIS Portal to update your information. Failure to take corrective action may result in the initiation of immigration proceedings to remove you from the United States."This letter imposes a strict 15-day deadline on international students to update their SEVIS records from the date of issuance. Failure to comply will lead to the termination of their SEVIS status, potentially resulting in consequences like students represent a large portion of the international student population in the US. According to the Open Doors Report for the 2022–23 academic year, there were 2,70,000 Indian students in the country, including 69,000 enrolled in OPT programs. As a result, many Indian students have been affected by these to 'NAFSA: Association of International Educators', the wordings of the letter are identical to those issued in 2020 under the Trump-Pence administration. However, according to education and immigration experts, this time there appears to be an uptick in the number of letters that are being issued.'Traditionally, it's been the school's DSO that tracks SEVIS compliance, but since ICE administers the SEVP, they have been going in and terminating people who have accumulated more than 90 days of unemployment during their OPT,' Jath Shao, founder of an immigration law firm told TOI.'It is crucial to have employment, paid or unpaid, that is related to the major you graduated from. You must also promptly report your employment or unemployment to your school's DSO. We have seen some cases where DSOs failed to timely update graduates' employment status in SEVIS, but USCIS has reinstated the students' status upon correction of the record,' pointed out gravity of the situation has prompted NAFSA: Association of International Educators, to issue a special advisory. It recommends that DSOs should diligently monitor the 'Accrued unemployment days' alerts. This alert highlights students who have accrued unemployment days and shows their employment status as of the date the list was generated. Designated School Officials (DSOs) are encouraged to proactively reach out to students with a high number of unemployment days and remind them to update their employment details via the SEVIS Portal or directly through their DSO.(With TOI inputs)
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
OPT students face heightened scrutiny by ICE, any lapse in employment data can result in deportation
(AI generated image) International students across the US are facing another unprecedented wave of enforcement, many students who are undergoing post-graduation Optional Practical Training (OPT) are receiving letters from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) threatening termination of their SEVIS records and potential deportation. The core of the issue lies in the reporting of employment status within the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). OPT regulations grant students a maximum of 90 days of unemployment during their twelve-month program. Another 60 days is available to those undertaking the STEM-OPT program for an additional two years. 'The recent ICE letters indicate that an international student's SEVIS record will be terminated if there is no employer information listed on the SEVIS portal. This signifies that the student did not report the OPT job on time or went over the allowed unemployment period, either of which can result in a termination of OPT status and initiation of removal proceedings,' said Snehal Batra, managing attorney at NPZ Law Group. 'This is a pretty big change for F-1 students. In the past, SEVIS did not usually terminate SEVIS records automatically for exceeding 90 days of unemployment. But now, with tighter rules, students could accidentally fall out of status for failure to report,' she added. Immigration attorneys point out that OPT reporting rules require SEVIS to be updated within ten days of any change - be it a new job, new work site location, or loss of employment. A copy of such a letter seen by TOI states, 'Because there is no employer information in your SEVIS record, you are accumulating unemployment days and may have exceeded the permissible period of unemployment. If you have been employed during your OPT time, you must correct your SEVIS record. Please contact your Designated School Official (DSO) or utilize the SEVIS Portal to update your information. Failure to take corrective action may result in the initiation of immigration proceedings to remove you from the United States. " Via this letter, international students are given a strict 15-day deadline from the date of the notice to update their SEVIS records. Failure to do so will result in the termination of their SEVIS record, with its attached consequences such as deportation. The Indian student community in the US is significant in terms of numbers. According to the Open Doors Report (academic year 2022-23), there were 2.70 lakh Indian students in the US, with 69,000 Indian students participating in OPT programs. Thus, several Indian students have at the receiving end of such letters. According to 'NAFSA: Association of International Educators', the wordings of the letter are identical to those issued in 2020 under the Trump-Pence administration. However, according to education and immigration experts, this time there appears to be an uptick in the number of letters that are being issued. 'Traditionally, it's been the school's DSO that tracks SEVIS compliance, but since ICE administers the SEVP, they have been going in and terminating people who have accumulated more than 90 days of unemployment during their OPT,' said Jath Shao, founder of an immigration law firm. 'It is crucial to have employment, paid or unpaid, that is related to the major you graduated from. You must also promptly report your employment or unemployment to your school's DSO. We have seen some cases where DSOs failed to timely update graduates' employment status in SEVIS, but USCIS has reinstated the students' status upon correction of the record,' pointed out Shao. The gravity of the situation has prompted NAFSA: Association of International Educators, to issue a special advisory. It recommends that DSOs should diligently monitor the 'Accrued unemployment days' alerts. This alert identifies students with unemployment days, indicating whether they are employed as of the list's generation date. DSOs have also been urged to proactively follow up with students accumulating high levels of unemployment days and to remind them to update their employment information through the SEVIS Portal or their DSO. Guidance to students: 'If you are nearing the end of the permitted number of unemployment days you have some choices including: leaving US before the end of the permitted number of unemployment days; enrolling in another qualifying education program and continuing in F-1 status, filing an application to change status to another visa category – say B-2 (tourist visa),' said Poovi Chothani, managing partner at LawQuest a Mumbai headquartered immigration firm. Batra added, 'In addition, international students should keep a written record of all OPT employment for their own record, including name of employer, dates of employment, name of supervisor, number of hours worked per week, job title and description. This information will also be helpful to prove maintenance of status when applying for a change of status from F-1 to say an H-1B.'
