TWO-YEAR EAD
USCIS
has begun to issue 2-year EAD cards for some employment based adjustment applicants. To qualify for a 2-year
EAD card, the applicant must have an approved I-140 petition and
their priority date is not current at the time of filing.
PASSPORT CARD
On July 22, 2008 the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the new U.S.
Passport Card is in full production and is being distributed. The Passport Card can be utilized for land and sea travel between
the U.S. and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. However, the Passport Card is not valid for international
travel by air. Beginning in June 2009, travelers will be required to present a Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative compliant document (Passport Card or traditional passport book) denoting both citizenship and identity when entering
the U.S. by land or sea.
USCIS ANNOUNCES NEW RULE ALLOWING EXTENION OF OPTIONAL PRACTICAL
TRAINING FOR QUALIFIED STUDENTS
Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) is temporary employment
that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major field of study and is valid for up to 12 months. Under
the new rule, certain students will be eligible to receive an additional 17 month extension of post-completion OPT.
In order to be eligible to the 17 month OPT extension, a student must have received a bachelor’s, master’s,
or doctorate degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). Further, their employer must be enrolled in
E-Verify program, an internet-based system operated by USCIS in partnership with Social Security Administration to determine
employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers. This new rule entitles
these students a maximum of 29 months of post-completion OPT and gives U.S. businesses two chances to recruit these highly
desirable graduates through the H-1B process.
Further, the new rule addresses the “cap-gap”
problem where OPT ends before H-1B time begins on October 1st. Unlike in the past, the new rule
automatically extends the authorized period of stay and employment authorization of any F-1 student
who is the beneficiary of a timely-filed change of status H-1B petition that has either still pending or granted by USCIS.
The automatic extension of F-1 status and employment authorization immediately terminates upon rejection, denial or
revocation of the H-1B petition.
