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A modification to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program was announced in April 2008, extending the period of the program from 12 to 29 months for qualified international students in the US under an F-1 visa. The OPT program allows F-1 visa students to work in the US in occupations related to their field of study.
F-1 visa holders are eligible for the 17-month extension if they hold a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). They must also be employed by a business enrolled in the E-Verify program -- a computerized system which allows employers to quickly check a foreigner's status to work in the US.
One of the highlights of the rule is how it resolves a situation that some F-1 visa students faced who successfully applied for an H-1B visa. Previously, if some F-1 visa students were granted approval for an H-1B visa, their F-1 visa validity would end before they could begin employment under H-1B. As a result, the they would be required to leave the US until they were allowed to enter the US under the H-1B visa.
Under the new rule to the OPT program, F-1 students who have pending H-1B petitions have their period of work authorization automatically extended from 12 to 29 months if they are in a STEM degree program listed below and thus not have to leave the US:
| STEM Degree Programs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Effective date: April 8, 2008; Updated April 18, 2008 | ||
| Family | CIP CODE | CIP Title |
| 11 | 11.0101 | Computer and Information Sciences, General. |
| 11 | 11.0102 | Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. |
| 11 | 11.0103 | Information Technology. |
| 11 | 11.0201 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General. |
| 11 | 11.0202 | Computer Programming, Specific Applications. |
| 11 | 11.0203 | Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification. |
| 11 | 11.0301 | Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician. |
| 11 | 11.0401 | Information Science/Studies. |
| 11 | 11.0501 | Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst. |
| 11 | 11.0701 | Computer Science. |
| 11 | 11.0801 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design. |
| 11 | 11.0802 | Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration. |
| 11 | 11.0803 | Computer Graphics. |
| 11 | 11.0901 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications. |
| 11 | 11.1001 | System Administration/Administrator. |
| 11 | 11.1002 | System, Networking, and LAN/WAN Management/Manager. |
| 11 | 11.1003 | Computer and Information Systems Security. |
| 11 | 11.1004 | Web/Multimedia Management and Webmaster. |
| 14 | 14.0101 | Engineering, General. |
| 14 | 14.0201 | Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0301 | Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering. |
| 14 | 14.0401 | Architectural Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0501 | Biomedical/Medical Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0601 | Ceramic Sciences and Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0801 | Civil Engineering, General. |
| 14 | 14.0802 | Geotechnical Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0803 | Structural Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0804 | Transportation and Highway Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0805 | Water Resources Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0901 | Computer Engineering, General. |
| 14 | 14.0902 | Computer Hardware Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.0903 | Computer Software Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.1001 | Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.1101 | Engineering Mechanics. |
| 14 | 14.1201 | Engineering Physics. |
| 14 | 14.1301 | Engineering Science. |
| 14 | 14.1401 | Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.1801 | Materials Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.1901 | Mechanical Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2001 | Metallurgical Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2101 | Mining and Mineral Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2201 | Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2301 | Nuclear Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2401 | Ocean Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2501 | Petroleum Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2701 | Systems Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.2801 | Textile Sciences and Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3101 | Materials Science. |
| 14 | 14.3201 | Polymer/Plastics Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3301 | Construction Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3401 | Forest Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3501 | Industrial Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3601 | Manufacturing Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3701 | Operations Research. |
| 14 | 14.3801 | Surveying Engineering. |
| 14 | 14.3901 | Geological/Geophysical Engineering. |
| 15 | 15.0000 | Engineering Technology, General. |
| 15 | 15.0101 | Architectural Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0201 | Civil Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0303 | Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0304 | Laser and Optical Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0305 | Telecommunications Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0401 | Biomedical Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0403 | Electromechanical Technology/Electromechanical Engineering Technology. |
| 15 | 15.0404 | Instrumentation Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0405 | Robotics Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0501 | Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology/Technician (ACH/ACR/ACHR/HRAC/HVAC/AC Technology). |
| 15 | 15.0503 | Energy Management and Systems Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0505 | Solar Energy Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0506 | Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment Management and Recycling Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0507 | Environmental Engineering Technology/Environmental Technology. |
| 15 | 15.0508 | Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0607 | Plastics Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0611 | Metallurgical Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0612 | Industrial Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0613 | Manufacturing Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0701 | Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0702 | Quality Control Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0703 | Industrial Safety Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0704 | Hazardous Materials Information Systems Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0801 | Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0803 | Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0805 | Mechanical Engineering/Mechanical Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0901 | Mining Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.0903 | Petroleum Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1001 | Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1102 | Surveying Technology/Surveying. |
| 15 | 15.1103 | Hydraulics and Fluid Power Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1201 | Computer Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1202 | Computer Technology/Computer Systems Technology. |
| 15 | 15.1203 | Computer Hardware Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1204 | Computer Software Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1301 | Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General. |
| 15 | 15.1302 | CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1303 | Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD. |
| 15 | 15.1304 | Civil Drafting and Civil Engineering CAD/CADD. |
| 15 | 15.1305 | Electrical/Electronics Drafting and Electrical/Electronics CAD/CADD. |
| 15 | 15.1306 | Mechanical Drafting and Mechanical Drafting CAD/CADD. |
| 15 | 15.1401 | Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician. |
| 15 | 15.1501 | Engineering/Industrial Management. |
| 26 | 26.0101 | Biology/Biological Sciences, General. |
| 26 | 26.0102 | Biomedical Sciences, General. |
| 26 | 26.0202 | Biochemistry. |
| 26 | 26.0203 | Biophysics. |
| 26 | 26.0204 | Molecular Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0205 | Molecular Biochemistry. |
| 26 | 26.0206 | Molecular Biophysics. |
| 26 | 26.0207 | Structural Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0208 | Photobiology. |
| 26 | 26.0209 | Radiation Biology/Radiobiology. |
| 26 | 26.0210 | Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0301 | Botany/Plant Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0305 | Plant Pathology/Phytopathology. |
| 26 | 26.0307 | Plant Physiology. |
| 26 | 26.0308 | Plant Molecular Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0401 | Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology. |
| 26 | 26.0403 | Anatomy. |
| 26 | 26.0404 | Developmental Biology and Embryology. |
| 26 | 26.0405 | Neuroanatomy. |
| 26 | 26.0406 | Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0407 | Cell Biology and Anatomy. |
| 26 | 26.0502 | Microbiology, General. |
| 26 | 26.0503 | Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology. |
| 26 | 26.0504 | Virology. |
| 26 | 26.0505 | Parasitology. |
| 26 | 26.0506 | Mycology. |
| 26 | 26.0507 | Immunology. |
| 26 | 26.0701 | Zoology/Animal Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0702 | Entomology. |
| 26 | 26.0707 | Animal Physiology. |
| 26 | 26.0708 | Animal Behavior and Ethology. |
| 26 | 26.0709 | Wildlife Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0801 | Genetics, General. |
| 26 | 26.0802 | Molecular Genetics. |
| 26 | 26.0803 | Microbial and Eukaryotic Genetics. |
| 26 | 26.0804 | Animal Genetics. |
| 26 | 26.0805 | Plant Genetics. |
| 26 | 26.0806 | Human/Medical Genetics. |
| 26 | 26.0901 | Physiology, General. |
| 26 | 26.0902 | Molecular Physiology. |
| 26 | 26.0903 | Cell Physiology. |
| 26 | 26.0904 | Endocrinology. |
| 26 | 26.0905 | Reproductive Biology. |
| 26 | 26.0906 | Neurobiology and Neurophysiology. |
| 26 | 26.0907 | Cardiovascular Science. |
| 26 | 26.0908 | Exercise Physiology. |
| 26 | 26.0909 | Vision Science/Physiological Optics. |
| 26 | 26.0910 | Pathology/Experimental Pathology. |
| 26 | 26.0911 | Oncology and Cancer Biology. |
| 26 | 26.1001 | Pharmacology. |
| 26 | 26.1002 | Molecular Pharmacology. |
| 26 | 26.1003 | Neuropharmacology. |
| 26 | 26.1004 | Toxicology. |
| 26 | 26.1005 | Molecular Toxicology. |
| 26 | 26.1006 | Environmental Toxicology. |
| 26 | 26.1007 | Pharmacology and Toxicology. |
| 26 | 26.1101 | Biometry/Biometrics. |
| 26 | 26.1102 | Biostatistics. |
| 26 | 26.1103 | Bioinformatics. |
| 26 | 26.1201 | Biotechnology. |
| 26 | 26.1301 | Ecology. |
| 26 | 26.1302 | Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography. |
| 26 | 26.1303 | Evolutionary Biology. |
| 26 | 26.1304 | Aquatic Biology/Limnology. |
| 26 | 26.1305 | Environmental Biology. |
| 26 | 26.1306 | Population Biology. |
| 26 | 26.1307 | Conservation Biology. |
| 26 | 26.1308 | Systematic Biology/Biological Systematics. |
| 26 | 26.1309 | Epidemiology. |
| 27 | 27.0101 | Mathematics, General. |
| 27 | 27.0102 | Algebra and Number Theory. |
| 27 | 27.0103 | Analysis and Functional Analysis. |
| 27 | 27.0104 | Geometry/Geometric Analysis. |
| 27 | 27.0105 | Topology and Foundations. |
| 27 | 27.0301 | Applied Mathematics. |
| 27 | 27.0303 | Computational Mathematics. |
| 27 | 27.0501 | Statistics, General. |
| 27 | 27.0502 | Mathematical Statistics and Probability. |
| 29 | 29.0101 | Military Technologies. |
| 40 | 40.0101 | Physical Sciences. |
| 40 | 40.0201 | Astronomy. |
| 40 | 40.0202 | Astrophysics. |
| 40 | 40.0203 | Planetary Astronomy and Science. |
| 40 | 40.0401 | Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General. |
| 40 | 40.0402 | Atmospheric Chemistry and Climatology. |
| 40 | 40.0403 | Atmospheric Physics and Dynamics. |
| 40 | 40.0404 | Meteorology. |
| 40 | 40.0501 | Chemistry, General. |
| 40 | 40.0502 | Analytical Chemistry. |
| 40 | 40.0503 | Inorganic Chemistry. |
| 40 | 40.0504 | Organic Chemistry. |
| 40 | 40.0506 | Physical and Theoretical Chemistry. |
| 40 | 40.0507 | Polymer Chemistry. |
| 40 | 40.0508 | Chemical Physics. |
| 40 | 40.0601 | Geology/Earth Science, General. |
| 40 | 40.0602 | Geochemistry. |
| 40 | 40.0603 | Geophysics and Seismology. |
| 40 | 40.0604 | Paleontology. |
| 40 | 40.0605 | Hydrology and Water Resources Science. |
| 40 | 40.0606 | Geochemistry and Petrology. |
| 40 | 40.0607 | Oceanography, Chemical and Physical. |
| 40 | 40.0801 | Physics, General. |
| 40 | 40.0802 | Atomic/Molecular Physics. |
| 40 | 40.0804 | Elementary Particle Physics. |
| 40 | 40.0805 | Plasma and High-Temperature Physics. |
| 40 | 40.0806 | Nuclear Physics. |
| 40 | 40.0807 | Optics/Optical Sciences. |
| 40 | 40.0808 | Solid State and Low-Temperature Physics. |
| 40 | 40.0809 | Acoustics. |
| 40 | 40.0810 | Theoretical and Mathematical Physics. |
| 41 | 41.0101 | Biology Technician/Biotechnology Laboratory Technician. |
| 41 | 41.0204 | Industrial Radiologic Technology/Technician. |
| 41 | 41.0205 | Nuclear/Nuclear Power Technology/Technician. |
| 41 | 41.0301 | Chemical Technology/Technician. |
| 51 | 51.0101 | Chiropractic (DC). |
| 52 | 52.1304 | Actuarial Science. |
