Last Update: March 07, 2023, 13:48 IST
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced premium processing of employment authorization applications for certain categories of international students. The move is likely to benefit a large number of Indian students on F-1 visas looking for temporary work directly related to their major field of study. This includes an extension of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) OPT Extensions who have Form I-765, Application for employment is pending. authorization, and would like to request a premium processing upgrade.
“The availability of premium processing for some F-1 students, in addition to the ease of online filing, will streamline the immigration experience for many international students,” said Ur M. Jaddu, USCIS director.
The new online-filing process for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, is now available for F-1 students seeking employment authorization in the above categories, PTI reported.
These new measures will help F-1 students to get employment authorization more quickly.
In FY22, USCIS accepted more than 1.8 million online applications, petitions and requests – a 53 percent increase from the 1.2 million online filings in FY21.
premium processing
Premium processing for some F-1 students will be expanded in phases. To get the benefits, students have to follow the below listed dates:
Form I-907 requests (online and offline) will be accepted beginning March 6 for students who already have pending Form I-765 under these categories: Pre-completion Opt (c)(3)(A); Opt (c)(3)(b) after completion; and a 24-month extension of OPT (c)(3)(c) for STEM students.
Form I-907 requests (online and offline) will be accepted when filed with Form I-765 for F-1 students in the above categories beginning April 3.
USCIS will deny premium processing requests for pending Form I-765 received before March 6 and premium processing requests for initial or concurrently filed Form I-765 received before April 3.
How to file for F-1 online
Applicants must create a free USCIS account to submit the form, pay the fee, and track status. It also provides a secure inbox to communicate and respond to requests for evidence online.
Applicants who have already filed paper Form I-765 and wish to request premium processing for Form I-907 can visit USCIS Account Access for details on linking their paper-filed cases to their online accounts. You can refer to the notice. You must complete the link to file online.
read all latest business news Here
