Important Updates

As of July 25, 2025, reports indicate that fees for Pre/Post-OPT and STEM OPT now match the fees as outlined by USCIS on their Fee Schedule.   We have been notified by several of our international students who are filing I-765s to apply for Pre-Completion OPT (C(3)a), Post-Completion OPT (C(3)b) and the STEM OPT Extension… Read more »

The Office of Global Services (OGS) is closely monitoring recent announcements from federal agencies regarding changes to how gender and sex are recorded in immigration systems and on official documents.  What’s changing?  Federal agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), have announced that federal systems will… Read more »

The U.S. Department of State (DoS) has announced expanded vetting of “online presence” for all F and J visa applicants, including students and exchange visitors. As part of this consular process, applicants are required to: Disclose all social media identifiers on the DS-160 visa application Set their social media profiles to “public” for consular review… Read more »

We are writing to share important news regarding F-1 student visa records and SEVP-initiated SEVIS terminations that began surfacing at the end of March 2025. On April 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially reversed a policy that had led to the mass termination of active SEVIS records for international students across… Read more »

Effective April 11, 2025, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new rule regarding alien registration. While most international students and scholars at Northeastern are already considered registered, there are specific scenarios in which action may be required. What This Means for Most of Our Community If you are currently in the… Read more »

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on 4/12/2021 that F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and 24 month STEM Extension of OPT (STEM) can now file online. Please click here for the entire announcement. Please remember that the first step in your application continues to be requesting your OPT or STEM recommendation I-20 form from… Read more »

Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies (CPS) has announced that beginning in Fall 2026, all graduate programs, graduate certificates, and doctoral degrees will transition to a semester-based academic calendar. We understand that prospective and current F-1/J-1 students may have questions about how this may impact their nonimmigrant student status. The Office of Global Services (OGS) has… Read more »

On December 13, 2024, OGS hosted a Webinar for F-1 or J-1 international students and recent alumni at Northeastern University to provide guidance and planning for the upcoming administration. For those who were not able to attend the webinar, OGS has prepared a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to provide basic guidance about planning… Read more »

Last Updated December 3, 2024 On November 26, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) re-published its Policy Manual to remove the conflicting guidance issued on August 27, 2024, regarding the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule for F-1 students. The USCIS update resolves the confusion created by the August policy update and aligns with the Student… Read more »

Dear F-1 Students, Upon a university review, the following definitions have been solidified to provide clarity regarding remote practical experiences (co-ops, internships, clinicals, residencies, or research experiences). These definitions align with the Northeastern University’s defined instructional methods. Defined Practical Experience Methods: In person (Traditional): All engagement takes place on site at the employer’s physical location… Read more »