Another enhancement is the creation of the SEVP Portal, which launched on March 23, 2018. The Portal provides students with a way to directly report, through a SEVIS-linked database, certain required information, including information about employment. The Portal includes a text field, titled "Relation to Field o/Study: Explain how this job relates to the degree that qualified you/or this OPT," so students can explain how their employment relates to their major area of study.
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A student’s employment history can be viewed on the Employment Information page in SEVIS. The Employment Information page lists all authorizations for an individual SEVIS ID. It does not list any authorizations for the same individual with another SEVIS ID.
When the status of an OPT request in SEVIS changes to “Approved” and on or after the Actual OPT Start Date, SEVIS sends the following OPT-related student data to the SEVP Portal: 1 SEVIS ID 2 Email address 3 Biographic Information 4 Contact Information 5 Information on the OPT Authorization 6 Employer information More ...
DSOs can update the student’s information using the following processes in SEVIS: SEVIS sends changed data to the portal once a day. The student will be able to see the updated data the next day. The following SEVP Portal status changes are recorded in your student's SEVIS record event history:
Note: There is no indicator for on-campus employment. School whose DSO entered the employment request in SEVIS. Date the DSO submitted the employment authorization request in SEVIS. Dates requested by the DSO for the student to work. Bob will finish his academic program on May 25, 2014.
The written explanation should include the student's job title, employer name, major area of study, whether full-time or the average hours worked per week, and a brief explanation of how the job is directly related to the student's degree/major field of study.
In college, the “major area of study” refers to your major: Mathematics, Computer Science, etc. If you are in high school or do not have a specified area of study, you could put “Not Applicable” or leave it blank. If you are unsure about what level of education is appropriate to put in this section, keep reading!
Purpose: Federal regulation permits F-1 nonimmigrant students to apply for authorization to engage in Optional Practical Training (OPT) that is directly related to their major area of study.
By regulation, STEM OPT participants must send a completed Form I-983 to their DSO. Their DSO must enter the employer information into SEVIS. The employer will appear in the portal the day after the DSO submits the information in SEVIS.
Field of study means a general career area, in which there may be several specific Programs of Study, and different Levels of Education.
What is a "Major?" The area of study you focus on while pursuing your degree is often referred to as your major. Majors consist of a group of core classes as well as any additional requirements determined by your degree program.
Studying while on OPT is generally prohibited. Enrolling full-time, taking classes at a higher educational level, or taking courses at another institution will terminate your employment authorization, even if the dates on your EAD are still valid. Any study while on OPT must be incidental.
Are multiple OPT jobs allowed? Multiple post-completion OPT jobs can be carried out once you complete your studies in a college or a university. You may work for more than one employer or job, but all employment must be related to your degree program. The cumulative number of hours should be 20 or more in a week.
Volunteers or unpaid interns (for standard pre or post-completion OPT): Students may work as volunteers or unpaid interns, where this practice does not violate any labor laws. The work should be at least 20 hours per week for students on post-completion OPT.
Overview. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) Portal is an important tool that lets students on post-completion optional practical training (OPT) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT meet their legal reporting requirements.
Before you add an employer in SEVIS, the student should give you a written description which includes:Job title.Employer name.Major area of study.Whether full time or the average number of hours worked per week.More items...•
Which documents should I have to prove that I have been employed?Copies of job offer letters and agreements/contracts with all OPT employers including start and end dates.Copies of job descriptions including job title, duties, location, pay rate and proposed number of hours to be worked per week.More items...
Area of study means a curriculum area under which course titles can be grouped in order to define concentrations in the student's program to meet the requirements for majors and minors.
An example of major is an event such as heart surgery. The definition of a major is a military officer of a high rank or the subject in which a person focuses his academic study and gets his degree. An example of a major is an army officer who ranks above captain.
A student's 'field of study' will include specific classes in one of the four 'core' subject areas: Social Studies, Math, English language arts, and Science. Most schools will focus on specific classes in one core subject for each of the standard years of high school (grades 9 to 12).
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) Portal is an important tool that lets students on post-completion optional practical training (OPT) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT meet their legal reporting requirements. Students are responsible for reporting:
Notes about student’s actions: Students cannot access SEVIS. Students can change their contact and employment information up to 15 days after the end date of their optional practical training (OPT). Students can enter up to 1000 characters in SEVP Portal text fields.
Students can use the SEVP Portal to report these changes, or they can ask a designated school official (DSO) report it for them. DSOs cannot limit a student’s access to the portal. You can require students to use the portal.
Visit these resources to learn about important and helpful SEVIS pages and functionality, including the student information page, mass actions and nonimmigrant search.
Visit these resources to learn how to get data from SEVIS using reports.
Visit these resources to learn about accessing SEVIS, including SEVIS passwords and security standards.
Visit these resources to learn information about the changes SEVIS makes to records and how the system communicates with users.
Visit these resources to learn how to enter information into SEVIS records, including names, physical addresses and email addresses.
The Employment Information page consists of a student’s Unemployment Counter for Active Employment, a table of the student’s employment data, and access to their employer information.
The Unemployment Counter for Active Employment ID XXX table displays days allowed, accrued, and remaining for the active period of post-completion OPT or STEM OPT, which are both identified by the Employment ID.
If the student does not have current and approved post-completion or STEM OPT employment authorization, the Unemployment Counter for Active Employment does not display .
Visit the tool on the Study in the States Facebook page to learn how to become an F or M international student in the United States.
See the SEVIS Help Icons on the SEVIS Help Hub for a quick-reference of the icons used in this user guide.
F/M students’ ability to work and train in the United States is limited by law. DSOs must know:
Students cannot legally work before the start date on the USCIS-approved work authorization.
Students who work in the United States are required to obtain a social security number (SSN).
See the SEVIS Help Icons on the SEVIS Help Hub for a quick-reference of the icons used in this user guide.
Once you log in to the portal, you can click “ Add Employer ” to add new employers. Please note that STEM OPT participants won’t be able to add new employers by themselves. What STEM OPT students need to do instead is that they should send the Training Form I-983 to the DSO.
As I briefly mentioned above, the unemployment counter in the SEVP portal counts each day without the employer information from the USCIS Approved OPT Start date as unemployment days.
If OPT information in SEVIS does not reflect applications filed with or decisions made by USCIS, DSOs can ask to have the record corrected. There are two ways to correct data in a student record.
Student is in a period of Active Post-Completion OPT. Student’s primary or secondary major was a STEM-eligible field, or the student completed a previous primary or secondary major in a currently STEM-eligible field. Student has not already had a STEM OPT extension of any duration based on the qualifying STEM degree.
STEM OPT refers to the 24-month extension of post-completion optional practical training (OPT). Designated school official (DSO) refers to both the principal designated school official (PDSO) and DSO, unless otherwise noted. Students who majored in an eligible Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) field may qualify for a one-time, ...
Students authorized for STEM OPT must be employed by an E-Verify-certified employer. A student on STEM OPT can be unemployed for a total of 150 days. This includes any of the remaining 90 days of unemployment allotted from the standard post-completion OPT.
The Upload Form I-983 page also serves as a historical listing of Form I-983 documents uploaded for a specific employer. You can access the Upload Form I-983 page from either of the following:
Students must submit a completed Form I-983 Training Plan for STEM OPT Students to the DSO before the DSO can recommend the STEM OPT extension in SEVIS. Students must submit a new Form I-983 for every new employment/training experience they accept during their STEM OPT extension.
Qualifying STEM degree was earned within the ten previous years of the date the DSO recommends the STEM OPT extension. School where the student earned the STEM degree is currently: SEVIS-certified. Accredited by a U.S. Department of Education accrediting organization.
Some F-1 students are eligible for practical training.
Complex rules apply to CPT because the training opportunity must comply with both:
A DSO can authorize CPT for an F-1 student enrolled at an SEVP-certified college, university, conservatory, or seminary if the student:
DSOs can cancel curricular practical training before the CPT start date. After the CPT start date, the DSO can only edit the authorization to shorten the CPT end date.
DSOs can view CPT information in four different locations in the student’s record:
This student list allows DSOs to find students with active or future CPT authorizations quickly. A student with multiple CPT authorizations will appear on the list more than once.
SEVIS captures and displays the history of CPT authorizations in the student’s Event History.