Since April 4, 2025, international students in the United States on valid F-1 student visas have reported receiving notice that their SEVIS (“Student and Exchange Visitor Information System”) records had been terminated and their F-1 visas revoked—effectively leaving them without lawful status. According to The Guardian, students from more than 50 universities shared that their visas were canceled around April 4 with many noting they had never been charged with any criminal offenses. These reports follow a series of alarming developments involving the detention of foreign national students for their participation in pro-Palestine activities and the Department of State’s confirmation that over 300 student visas had been revoked. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited national interest and students’ criminal records as the basis for these actions.
Read moreDHS Publishes H-1B Modernization Final Rule to Improve Program Integrity and Efficiency
On December 18, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a Final rule in the Federal Register modernizing and increasing the efficiency of the H-1B program, adding benefits and flexibilities, and improving integrity measures. This rule will become effective January 17, 2025.
The final rule imposes changes to the H-1B program and codifies a number of existing rules. We must point out that the final rule is quite lengthy; therefore, our summary does not cover all of the changes. We have outlined a few of the most notable updates and changes below which we feel may be of most interest to our community.
Read moreThe New York Times: “Colleges Warn Foreign Students to Get to Campus Before Trump Takes Office”
Ahead of President Trump’s upcoming inauguration on January 20, 2025, some universities, including Harvard, USC, and Cornell are advising their international student body to prepare to return to campus from their winter breaks before Trump is sworn in to office. The warnings are a result of Trump’s expressed desire to reimpose a travel ban previously instituted during his first term as President and ended by President Biden when he took office.
Read moreUSCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B CAP
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced on December 2, 2024, they had reached the H-1B Cap for fiscal year 2025. The Service reported having received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated limits for the H-1B visa regular cap, as well as the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) for FY2025. USCIS will be sending non-selection notices to registrants through their online accounts “over the next few days.”
Employers submitted registrations for 442,000 unique beneficiaries during FY 2025 H-1B cap registration period. USCIS went on to conduct two lottery selections, one in March 2024 and another in August 2024. For those not selected, remember there may still be hope.
USCIS Rolls Out Premium Processing Option for Certain F-1 Students
Holding to true to its plans to expand its premium processing services to “increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the overall legal immigration system”, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it is implementing premium processing service and online-filing procedures for certain F-1 student visa holders seeking Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”) OPT extensions.
Read moreUSCIS Announces Resources and Guidance for STEM Graduates
Keeping in line with the Biden Administration’s objective to attract and maintain global talent in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has recently published additional online resources on its website, to " provide an overview of some of the temporary and permanent pathways for noncitizens to work in the United States” in the STEM fields.
Read moreBiden Administration Takes Steps to Maintain STEM Talent in the US
In an effort “to attract global talent to strengthen our economy and technological competitiveness, and benefit working people and communities all across the country”, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has significantly revised and broadened its policy affecting F-1 students who have earned a qualifying US degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”).
Read moreNoriko's Visa Adventure
The US Embassy Tokyo has a brief but informative video on the process of obtaining a visa at the consulate there. The video, one of many on the Embassy's Youtube channel, has some helpful pointers on what to expect, particularly in regards to the F-1 student visa (spoiler: Noriko gets one!). The Embassy also states they will respond to questions on their Twitter.
