As per USCIS announcement dated February 26th, 2021, USCIS is extending flexibility for certain foreign students affected by delayed receipt notices for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. According to USCIS, these flexibility will apply only to applications received on or after October 1st, 2020, through May 1st, 2021, inclusive.
Currently USCIS is experiencing delays at certain lockboxes in issuing receipt notices for Form I-765 for optional practical training (OPT-Optional Practical Training) for F-1 students, and these delays are a result of COVID-19 restrictions, a dramatic increase in filings of certain benefit requests, postal service volume and delays, and other external factors.
Accordingly, in order to assist certain applicants for OPT impacted by the delays in issuing receipt notices for Form I-765, USCIS is extending following flexibility to assist them:
- 14-month OPT period flexibility to allow F-1 students to complete the full period of requested OPT (up to 12 months).
Beginning February 26th, 2021, USCIS will approve applications for post-completion OPT with validity dates reflecting the same amount of time originally recommended by the designated school official (DSO) from their school on the Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant Student Status. USCIS has taken this step to allow F-1 students to complete the full period of requested OPT (up to 12 months). Accordingly, beginning February 26th, 2021, USCIS will allow the 14-month period to commence from the date of approval of the Form I-765 for applications for post-completion OPT.
Please note, F-1 students requesting post-completion OPT who receive an approval of Form I-765 for less than the full amount of OPT time requested (not to exceed 12 months) due to the requirement that the OPT be completed within 14 months of the program end date may request a correction of the EAD (Employment Authorization Card) due to USCIS error. USCIS will issue a corrected EAD (Employment Authorization Card) with a new end date, as requested, to cover the full amount of OPT time recommended in the original application.
- Refiling following rejection to be treated as timely filed.
The applicants for OPT must file the Form I-765 during certain time frames. However, due to the lockbox delays, some applicants who timely filed Form I-765 for OPT and whose applications were later rejected are unable to timely refile within the required application time frames.
Therefore, for such impacted applicants, USCIS will accept a refiled Form I-765 for OPT and STEM OPT as filed on the original filing date if:
- The original, timely filed application was received on or after Oct. 1, 2020, through May 1, 2021, inclusive; and
- USCIS subsequently rejected it.
The refiled applications must be received by May 31st, 2021, for USCIS to treat the application as though filed on the original received date. Applicants refiling a Form I-765 for OPT or STEM OPT do not need to obtain a new Form I-20 with an updated OPT recommendation from the DSO, as long as they originally submitted an application for post-completion OPT within 30 days of the DSO’s recommendation or an application for STEM OPT within 60 days of the DSO’s recommendation as required by the regulations.
Applicants refiling an application should include a copy of the rejection notice to facilitate review of the case.
- Applications with missing or deficient signatures are generally rejected at the lockbox and per USCIS this policy remains unchanged.
Please note, applications with missing or deficient signatures are generally rejected at the lockbox and per USCIS this policy remains unchanged. However, if the lockbox accepts a Form I-765 application for OPT or STEM OPT with a missing or deficient signature, USCIS will issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) rather than deny the application, to give the applicant the opportunity to respond and provide the necessary signature or correct the deficiency.
We will regularly update the blog as soon as any new updates are available.
Disclaimer
This article aims to provide new information concerning the premium processing service. This article, under no circumstances, acts as legal advice; therefore, for any immigration questions, please contact your Attorney or the Ahluwalia Law Offices, P.C. (Team ALO).
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