Assist! My firm did not register me on this yr’s H-1B lottery
Sophie Alcorn
Contributor
Sophie Alcorn is the founding father of Alcorn Immigration Regulation in Silicon Valley and 2019 International Regulation Specialists Awards’ “Regulation Agency of the Yr in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Companies.” She connects individuals with the companies and alternatives that develop their lives.
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Right here’s one other version of “Ask Sophie,” the recommendation column that solutions immigration-related questions on working at expertise firms.
“Your questions are important to the unfold of information that enables individuals everywhere in the world to rise above borders and pursue their goals,” says Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration lawyer. “Whether or not you’re in individuals ops, a founder or in search of a job in Silicon Valley, I’d like to reply your questions in my subsequent column.”
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Pricey Sophie,
My STEM OPT expires in a month, and my firm didn’t register me on this yr’s H-1B lottery.
I’m undecided what choices I’ve now. Assist!
— Sleepless in Silicon Valley
Pricey Sleepless,
I’m so sorry to listen to that your employer didn’t register you for this yr’s H-1B lottery! Issues can really feel related for many who weren’t registered and their STEM OPT is expiring. To not fear although! I’ve obtained you lined. However first, let me dive into just a few issues you need to know, beginning together with your grace interval.
Picture Credit: Joanna Buniak / Sophie Alcorn (opens in a brand new window)
60-day grace interval
You get a 60-day grace interval when your F-1 STEM OPT expires. Please needless to say you can not work throughout the 60-day grace interval. This grace interval is to not be confused with the 60-day grace interval sometimes utilized by individuals in H-1B standing.
The aim of a scholar F-1 grace interval is to offer you time earlier than you should depart the US to both:
Proceed your training by enrolling in a brand new educational program at one other establishment and acquiring a brand new Type I-20
Apply to alter to a different nonimmigrant standing for work or one other objective (USCIS just lately clarified that it’s okay search for a job in B customer standing)
Apply for a inexperienced card via an adjustment of standing if you’re eligible and don’t plan to journey internationally
Wrap up your affairs, journey inside the US and depart the US
Let me dive into among the nitty gritty of this checklist:
Proceed your training
The tech job market worldwide can really feel powerful proper now. The variety of individuals laid off within the tech trade to date this yr has already surpassed all of 2022, in response to Layoffs.fyi. In 2022, 164,511 individuals misplaced their jobs. Thus far this yr, greater than 183,000 individuals have been laid off within the tech trade.
Given this, chances are you’ll need to contemplate persevering with your training as an F-1 scholar by enrolling in a full-time diploma program. Usually, Curricular Sensible Coaching (CPT) is accessible at some universities and schools. CPT allows an F-1 scholar who has been enrolled full-time for at the least one educational yr and has not but graduated to work, however some applications provide “day-one” CPT.
Needless to say working for one yr of full-time CPT (greater than 20 hours of labor per week) means you gained’t be eligible for Optionally available Sensible Coaching (OPT). Working part-time underneath CPT (20 hours per week or much less) means you’ll nonetheless be eligible for OPT and probably one other two-year STEM OPT extension in case your diploma is on the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety’s STEM Designated Diploma Program Record.