OPT I-983 Approved!
/We are happy to announce that our first four I-983 applications from June have been approved! We just received the EAD cards in the mail from the USCIS.
Our OPT employees have been anxious all these days, but we were very confident that we will get the approvals. Note that it may be easy to get approved initially, but the real challenge lies in staying in compliance with all the I-983 guidelines that are required of both the employers and the students.
************************* CONTACT US TODAY to discuss your case in detail. We are actively hiring 12-month OPTs with Computer Science or IT degrees. We will work with you to prepare a training plan tailored to your degree and courses, in compliance with all other STEM Extension requirements while also keeping your future H1B/GC in mind. Use the calendar at the bottom of this post to schedule a phone consultation immediately with one of our experienced recruiters; we have limited openings. *************************
These are the steps we took to comply with I-983 rules:
- We created a detailed training plan that is specific to each employee, based on their degree and coursework undertaken.
- All employees have been put on a salary schedule, and our compensation structure is designed such that the OPT employees are paid continuously, even while on bench between projects.
- Note that the OPT STEM Extension employees should be paid and that their pay should be similar to all similarly situated employees. So we came up with a way of uniformly paying all OPT employees during their first and subsequent years, while at the same time satisfying the employees' desire to maximize their compensation.
- The job duties and description in the form I-983 were designed to be in compliance with OPT requirements. But at the same time, we also made sure that they do not conflict with your eventual H1B application. You don't want issues from your OPT I-983 biting you in the wrong place during your H1B process.
- We have documented in detail the in-house, in-person classroom training provided to these employees. We also did assessments before and after the training, thus documenting the value that we added as OPT employers, which is the primary requirement for an OPT employer.
- We assigned mentors to OPT employee. These mentors are industry experts with more that a decade of experience in their fields, and will act as the technical supervisor of the employees.
- We also assigned an administrative supervisor, who will be in charge of all the administrative and reporting requirements to stay in compliance.
- We have an automated mechanism in place to track all the required reporting dates (every 6 and 12 months to the DSO), and also monthly updates, quarterly performance assessments as required by I-983 rules.
- And we do this for EVERY single one of our OPT employees. Because if we are found out of compliance with just one employee, it might impact that status of all other OPT employees. Something you want to be aware of while choosing an OPT employer.
In short, we have created a process by which all the right steps are taken at the right time, so that we are able to successfully navigate any future audits and site visits from the USCIS. At the end of the day, this is the key to long-term success with immigration!
