Overview

• ICE has issued letters warning OPT participants that unreported or excessive unemployment will trigger SEVIS record termination and removal proceedings.
• OPT regulations allow 90 days of unemployment (plus 60 more for STEM-OPT) and mandate corrections in SEVIS within 15 days of an ICE notice.
• Joseph Edlow, President Trump’s nominee for USCIS director, told the Senate he would eliminate the OPT program if confirmed.
• Indian graduates are heavily affected, with about 69,000 on OPT out of roughly 270,000 Indian students in the US.
• NAFSA advises Designated School Officials to monitor accrued unemployment alerts and attorneys urge students to keep detailed employment records.