A February 12, 2016, court-imposed deadline to determine the
fate of certain student work permits is fast approaching. At this
point, it is unclear whether the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) will be able to meet its regulatory target date to
extend work permits granted to certain students with F-1 visas. The
failure to act or extend the work permits may adversely affect the
continued employment of these workers.
F-1 visas are visas granted to foreigners to study in the United
States. Traditionally, a student entering the country on an
F-1 visa could be authorized to receive up to 12 months of optional
practical training (OPT) either before (pre-) and/or after (post-)
completion of studies in the United States. Effective April
8, 2008, the DHS published an interim final rule that granted an
additional one-time post-completion OPT to qualifying F-1 students
to apply for a 17-month extension. To qualify for this one-time
extension, the F-1 students must be
