BlogLine

USCIS Reverses Course – STEM OPT Students May Now Work At 3rd Party Client Sites

9/18/18

By: Ken Levine
On August 17^th U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted an announcement on their website to publicize the agency’s decision to once again allow STEM OPT F-1 students to engage in training programs at a third-party client worksite.  This update supersedes the Agency’s policy change in April 2018 which disallowed STEM OPT students from being placed at 3rd party client sites.
This new guidance essentially restored an employer’s ability to place OPT students in a science, technology, mathematics or engineering (STEM) field at a 3^rd party client site, so long as all applicable training obligations are met, and a bona fide employer/employee relationship is maintained for the full duration of the assignment.
This USCIS policy reversal was welcome news for the many U.S. employers who had historically trained their OPT personnel by placing them at 3^rd party work sites.  However, it is extremely important that employers be vigilant in ensuring that the training is in full compliance with the I-983 training program. Companies that sponsor their OPT employees for an H-1B visa should expect that USCIS will closely scrutinize the OPT training program details.
For additional information related to this topic and for advice regarding how to navigate U.S. immigration laws you may contact Ken Levine of the law firm of Freeman, Mathis & Gary, LLP at (770-551-2700) or klevine@fmglaw.com.