OPT Students Association

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year for you and your loved ones!
May you have the best ever!

OPT/CPT Training Will Be starting..Soon ! At Kastechssg

US to soon allow spouse of H-1B visa holder to work in America.
WASHINGTON: Aimed at attracting the world's best and brightest, the US will soon come out with a series of policy initiatives and changes in the existing rules including allowing the spouses of H-1B visas to work in America.

In a statement, the White House said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon publish several proposed rules that will make the US more attractive to talented foreign entrepreneurs and other high-skill immigrants who will contribute substantially to the US economy, create jobs, and enhance American innovative competitiveness.

"These proposed regulations include rules authorizing employment for spouses of certain high-skill workers on H-1B visas, as well as enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers," it said in a statement.

"These measures build on continuing DHS efforts to streamline, eliminate inefficiency, and increase the transparency of the existing immigration system, such as by the launch of Entrepreneur Pathways, an online resource center that gives immigrant entrepreneurs an intuitive way to navigate opportunities to start and grow a business," it said.

From the statement, it appears that spouses of H-1B visas are unlikely to get a blanket approval to work in the US. Only certain category of spouses of H-1B visa holders - mainly from the science and tech category, are likely to get the nod.

The White House also said the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are launching a new collaboration to empower entrepreneurial scientists and address the critical gap between fundamental research and the development of a commercial entity.

The H-1B work visas for highly skilled professionals have been most beneficial from IT sector professionals from India.

As per the Congressional mandated cap, US Citizenship and Immigration Services can allocate a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2015 beginning October 1, 2014.

Academic researchers and entrepreneurs who receive Small Business Innovation Research funding from NIH will be eligible to pilot a new version of the NSF Innovation Corps programme that is specially tailored for biomedical technologies.

This intensive, mentor-driven experience is changing the way that NSF-funded researchers think about the commercialization process, the White House said.

NIH will also help scale up I-Corps by augmenting existing NIH-funded programs, such as the NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovation (NCAI), that focus on promising technologies developed by academic researchers.

"Faculty and students who participate in these new I-Corps programs will receive mentorship opportunities, entrepreneurial training, and modest funding to enable them to move their ideas from the lab to the market," it said.

The White House said fostering entrepreneurs and strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems are vital elements of USAID's newly launched US Global Development Lab (The Lab).

A new USAID Research and Innovation Fellowships Program will send more than 60 young US leaders in science and technology to universities, NGOs, and companies in 12 developing countries this year, it added.

US to soon allow spouse of H-1B visa holder to work in America.
WASHINGTON: Aimed at attracting the world's best and brightest, the US will soon come out with a series of policy initiatives and changes in the existing rules including allowing the spouses of H-1B visas to work in America.

In a statement, the White House said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon publish several proposed rules that will make the US more attractive to talented foreign entrepreneurs and other high-skill immigrants who will contribute substantially to the US economy, create jobs, and enhance American innovative competitiveness.

"These proposed regulations include rules authorizing employment for spouses of certain high-skill workers on H-1B visas, as well as enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers," it said in a statement.

"These measures build on continuing DHS efforts to streamline, eliminate inefficiency, and increase the transparency of the existing immigration system, such as by the launch of Entrepreneur Pathways, an online resource center that gives immigrant entrepreneurs an intuitive way to navigate opportunities to start and grow a business," it said.

From the statement, it appears that spouses of H-1B visas are unlikely to get a blanket approval to work in the US. Only certain category of spouses of H-1B visa holders - mainly from the science and tech category, are likely to get the nod.

The White House also said the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are launching a new collaboration to empower entrepreneurial scientists and address the critical gap between fundamental research and the development of a commercial entity.

The H-1B work visas for highly skilled professionals have been most beneficial from IT sector professionals from India.

As per the Congressional mandated cap, US Citizenship and Immigration Services can allocate a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2015 beginning October 1, 2014.

Academic researchers and entrepreneurs who receive Small Business Innovation Research funding from NIH will be eligible to pilot a new version of the NSF Innovation Corps programme that is specially tailored for biomedical technologies.

This intensive, mentor-driven experience is changing the way that NSF-funded researchers think about the commercialization process, the White House said.

NIH will also help scale up I-Corps by augmenting existing NIH-funded programs, such as the NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovation (NCAI), that focus on promising technologies developed by academic researchers.

"Faculty and students who participate in these new I-Corps programs will receive mentorship opportunities, entrepreneurial training, and modest funding to enable them to move their ideas from the lab to the market," it said.

The White House said fostering entrepreneurs and strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems are vital elements of USAID's newly launched US Global Development Lab (The Lab).

A new USAID Research and Innovation Fellowships Program will send more than 60 young US leaders in science and technology to universities, NGOs, and companies in 12 developing countries this year, it added.

::FOR OPT STUDENTS::
For the purposes of OPT, "part-time" work refers to work that is at most 20 hours/week. The term "full-time" could be used either in the sense of "more than part-time" (i.e., more than 20 hours/week) or in the sense of 40 hours/week or more.
>>Pre-completion and post-completion OPT
There are two types of OPT
• Pre-completion OPT: This is a type of OPT where people currently pursuing degree programs acquire work authorization to do work related to their field of study. The work may be part-time during academic quarters and full-time during vacations.
• Post-completion OPT: This is a type of OPT where people who have either completed their degree requirements, and requires working at least 20 hours/week to count as OPT employment (more later). Ph.D. candidates can apply for post-completion OPT if they are ABD (all but dissertation) and are not simultaneously enrolled as students.

OPT Students Association We are currently hiring IT professionals (graduates who are on OPT/CPT/willing to change the employment) to Offer H1sponsorship & placements

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a type of work experience that an F-1 student can generally gather through a temporary employment. The employment or the work is often related to the subjects of study or the academic program of the students. As per the rule, a student can receive maximum 12 months of hands-on practical experience for each degree level (Bachelor, Masters, Doctorate) (Additional 17 months for STEM degree holders). However, a student is free to undergo this practical training either during the studies or after the completion of his or her studies.

To be eligible for OPT, students must have been enrolled full-time for an academic year prior to the start of the requested practical training period. If students return from a leave of absence of more than 5 months, they must be enrolled full-time for at least one academic year before they can be eligible for OPT again.

Although a job is not required for OPT to be granted, students should ensure that the employment they find is directly related to their field of study. Employment in an unrelated field would violate F-1 status.
Students who have already used 12 months of post-completion practical training based on the completion of one degree are eligible for another 12 months of post-completion practical training if they complete another degree at a higher degree level.

Students who have participated in 12 months or more of full-time Curricular Practical Training will not be eligible for OPT. Part-time Curricular Practical Training is not deducted. (Employment on-campus does not affect Optional Practical Training.)