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The Department of Homeland Security has
announced a new policy permitting extensions of OPT work
authorization for students in certain fields.
Students who are actively in a 12-month OPT may now apply to
extend their work authorization by 17 months, for a total of 29
months. This option is available ONLY for students whose
degrees are in approved STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics) fields.
To see if you are eligible for the
extension, please see the table of approved majors below!
Other requirements/restrictions for
17-month extension:
* To apply for the extension, a student
must be currently participating in a 12-month period of OPT,
working for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the
student’s major area of study.
* The student must have successfully
completed a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in an
approved STEM field, from a SEVIS-certified college or
university.
* The student’s employer during the
extension period must be registered with the
E-Verify employment verification system.
* Students are not eligible for more than
one 17-month OPT extension.
* The employer must agree to report the
termination or departure of the student to the office of
International Student Services.
To apply for the 17-month extension,
students must contact the University of South Carolina’s office
of International Student Services, which will approve the
extension and discuss with the student the method for filing the
request. Students who timely file an application for the
17-month OPT extension will be able to continue employment while
the extension application is pending, until a final decision on
the I-765 or for 180 days, whichever comes first.
Students on OPT
must provide timely updates to International Student Services of
any changes in name, address, employment and unemployment.
Additionally, while students are on the 17-month extension, they
must validate their information every six months starting from
the date the extension begins and ending when the student's F-1
status ends, the student changes educational levels at the same
school, the student transfers to another school, or the 17-month
OPT extension ends, whichever is first. The validation is a
confirmation that the student's name and address, employer name
and address, and/or loss of employment is current and accurate.
The report is due to the DSO within 10 business days of each
reporting date.
Please send any questions concerning the
new regulations to
intlprog@sc.edu. To request an extension, or to discuss the
possibility of an extension, please make an appointment with an
international student advisor by calling 803-777-7461.
Appointments can be conducted by phone, if you are no longer
residing in Columbia.
For more information about these changes,
as well as new regulations on OPT reporting requirements and
H1B-related extensions, please visit this webpage:
http://www.nafsa.org/regulatory_information.sec/29_month_opt_rule_updates
STEM-majors Approved for 17-month
Extensions:
|
USC Major |
CIP code |
Federal
Major |
|
COMPUTER
SCIENCE |
11.0101 |
COMPUTER
AND INFORMATION SCIENCES, GENERAL |
|
COMPUTER
INFORMATION SYSTEMS |
11.0101 |
COMPUTER
AND INFORMATION SCIENCES, GENERAL |
|
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS |
11.0101 |
COMPUTER
AND INFORMATION SCIENCES, GENERAL |
|
INFORMATION
SCIENCE |
11.0401 |
INFORMATION
SCIENCE/STUDIES |
|
INFORMATION
ASSURANCE & SECURITY |
11.1003 |
COMPUTER
INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY |
|
ENGINEERING, GENERAL |
14.0101 |
ENGINEERING, GENERAL |
|
LOWER
DIVISION ENGINEERING |
14.0101 |
ENGINEERING, GENERAL |
|
BIOMEDICAL
ENGINEERING |
14.0501 |
BIOMEDICAL/MEDICAL ENGINEERING |
|
CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING |
14.0701 |
CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING |
|
CIVIL
ENGINEERING |
14.0801 |
CIVIL
ENGINEERING, GENERAL |
|
COMPUTER
ENGINEERING |
14.0901 |
COMPUTER
ENGINEERING, GENERAL |
|
COMPUTER
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING |
14.0901 |
COMPUTER
ENGINEERING, GENERAL |
|
SOFTWARE
ENGINEERING |
14.0903 |
COMPUTER
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (NEW) |
|
ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING |
14.1001 |
ELECTRICAL,
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING |
|
MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING |
14.1901 |
MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING |
|
NUCLEAR
ENGINEERING |
14.2301 |
NUCLEAR
ENGINEERING |
|
ENGINEERING
TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT |
15.1501 |
ENGINEERING/INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT |
|
BIOLOGICAL
SCIENCES |
26.0101 |
BIOLOGY/BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, GENERAL |
|
BIOMEDICAL
SCIENCE |
26.0102 |
BIOMEDICAL
SCIENCES, GENERAL (NEW) |
|
GENETIC
COUNSELING |
26.0806 |
HUMAN/MEDICAL GENETICS |
|
BIOSTATISTICS |
26.1102 |
BIOSTATISTICS |
|
MARINE
SCIENCE |
26.1302 |
MARINE
BIOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY |
|
EPIDEMIOLOGY |
26.1309 |
EPIDEMIOLOGY |
|
MATHEMATICS |
27.0101 |
MATHEMATICS, GENERAL |
|
INDUSTRIAL
MATHEMATICS |
27.0301 |
APPLIED
MATHEMATICS |
|
INDUSTRIAL
STATISTICS |
27.0301 |
APPLIED
MATHEMATICS |
|
MATHEMATICS
AND COMPUTER SCIENCE |
27.0301 |
APPLIED
MATHEMATICS |
|
COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS |
27.0303 |
COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS (NEW) |
|
APPLIED
STATISTICS |
27.0501 |
STATISTICS,
GENERAL |
|
STATISTICS |
27.0501 |
STATISTICS,
GENERAL |
|
CHEMISTRY |
40.0501 |
CHEMISTRY,
GENERAL |
|
EARTH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT |
40.0601 |
GEOLOGY/EARTH SCIENCE, GENERAL |
|
EARTH
SCIENCES |
40.0601 |
GEOLOGY/EARTH SCIENCE, GENERAL |
|
GEOLOGY |
40.0601 |
GEOLOGY/EARTH SCIENCE, GENERAL |
|
GEOPHYSICS |
40.0603 |
GEOPHYSICS
AND SEISMOLOGY |
|
PHYSICS |
40.0801 |
PHYSICS,
GENERAL |
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