Acting Section Chief, SEVP Policy, Student and Exchange Visitor Program

1653-AA72 201510 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 1653 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement USICE 1600 Department of Homeland Security DHS Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students with STEM Degrees and Expanding Cap-Gap Relief for All F-1 Students With Pending H-1B Petitions

The Department of Homeland Security is proposing a new rule to enhance opportunities for F-1 nonimmigrant students graduating with a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree from an accredited school certified by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), and to further their courses of study through optional practical training (OPT) with employers enrolled in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS’) E-Verify employment verification program. The proposed rule would replace a 2008 interim final rule (IFR) that was invalidated and will be vacated on February 12, 2016, per a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on August 12, 2015, in the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security litigation.

]]> Economically Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Proposed Rule Stage Yes No 8 CFR 214 8 CFR 274a 8 U.S.C. 1101 8 U.S.C. 1103 8 U.S.C. 1182 8 U.S.C. 1184 8 U.S.C. 1221 8 U.S.C. 1281 and 1282 8 U.S.C. 1302 to 1305 Yes

This proposed rule would enhance the academic experience of STEM OPT students, increase the overall competitiveness of U.S. educational institutions, and provide important benefits to the U.S. economy.

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Not yet determined

]]> ]]> NPRM 10/19/2015 80 FR 63375 NPRM Comment Period End 11/18/2015 Final Rule 01/00/2016 Undetermined None No No No Yes Katherine Westerlund H. Acting Section Chief, SEVP Policy, Student and Exchange Visitor Program 1653 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement USICE 703 603-3400 sevp@ice.dhs.gov Potomac Center North, STOP 5600, 500 12th Street SW, Washington DC 20536-5600 Molly Stubbs ICE Regulatory Coordinator 1653 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement USICE 202 732-6202 molly.stubbs@ice.dhs.gov 500 12th Street SW., Washington DC 20536