USCIS Proposes to Adjust Fees to Meet Operational Needs
The US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to adjust the fees charged by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for certain benefit applications.USDHS Guidance on Additional Scrutiny of F-1 OPT/STEM OPT and Relationship to Degree Field
On September 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued new Policy Guidance to schools indicating that additional scrutiny is being placed on determination of the “direct relationship between…MIT Joins Peer Institutions in Filing an Amicus Curaie Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of the DACA Program
The MIT Office of the General Counsel issued a statement on its webpage outlining that MIT joined the "friend of the court" brief with 18 peer institutions issued on October…SCAM ALERT: SSN status, Calls from Government, Courier companies
There are recent reports of new scams targeting international students: 1) scammers posing as an officer from their home country Consulate or police through social media or phone; 2) Calls…Update on OPT Processing Delays
The ISO continues to monitor F-1 Optional Practical Training processing times as approval timelines have been delayed as compared to previous years. These processing delays are affecting all OPT applications…President Reif: Immigration is a Kind of Oxygen
MIT President L. Rafael Reif released a letter to the MIT Community addressing the important role immigration, and immigrants, play in the U.S. and at MIT.SEVP Announces Changes to Program Fees
On May 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule to adjust fees charged by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to international students,…3Q: Supporting MIT international students experiencing processing delays this summer
David C. Elwell, Associate Dean and Director of the MIT International Students Office, talks about impact of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processing delays impacting international students seeking to…The Tech: ISO responds to work authorization delays affecting international students’ internships
As of Sunday, 43 graduate students and two undergraduate students have filed Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorization applications, David Elwell, associate dean and director of MIT’s International Students Office…Work authorization delays interfere with international students’ summer internships
International students at MIT and many other universities who applied for Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorization are experiencing widespread government processing delays, preventing them from starting their summer internships.US State Department to Collect Social Media Information from US Visa Applicants
Effective May 31, 2019, the U.S. Department of State has updated is nonimmigrant (DS-160) and immigrant (DS-260) visa applications forms for all applicants at U.S. Embassies/Consulates worldwide.Changes to U.S. Sanction Rules on Cuba
The U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced changes to the Cuba Sanctions Rules, effective June 5, 2019. Changes include ending group people-to-people travel to Cuba…USDHS increases SEVIS Fees
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced, effect June 24, 2019, that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program fees charged to international students, exchange visitors, and SEVP-certified host institutions…USDHS Suspends Air Transportation between the US and Venezuela
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of State announced that it is immediately suspending indefinitely all commercial and cargo flights between the United States and Venezuela.USCIS Completes H-1B Cap Selection Process for FY 2020
On April 10, USCIS completed the random selection process ("lottery") as it has received sufficient H-1B petitions for both the regular 65,000 cap and the 20,000 US-earned advanced degree (Masters…USCIS Reaches FY 2020 H-1B Regular Cap
USCIS announced that is has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the 65,000 H-1B visa regular "cap" for fiscal year 2020.Tax Filing Resources for International Students: Now Available!
Our US Federal tax filing resources are now available.I-20 & DS-2019 Delays Due to SEVIS
The US DHS SEVIS system is currently experiencing significant technical difficulties which are resulting in long delays for the issuance of the Form I-20 and the Form DS-2019. Your requests…Supreme Court takes no action on Trump Administration request to review DACA termination litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court took no action on the request by the Trump Administration to expedite review of the current court challenges to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals…