Of Change and Clarification
In I-765 Procedures
At California Service Center
(Effective Immediately)
In a recent meeting between Division II and Division III representatives, the following changes and clarifications in the I-765 were discussed, agreed upon and have been put into action:
A. Students filing an I-765 application may file up to but not more than 90 days prior to reaching nine-months in (student) status to ensure timely adjudication of the EAD. This means that the student will not have to meet the nine-month time in status requirement at "time of filing." However, the nine-month time in status will have to be met before issuance of the EAD.
B. Officers will have the discretion to go beyond the time listed on the I-20 or I-538 up to the fourteen-month limit to ensure that the student receives the maximum amount of OPT available as long as the DSO or other school representative notates the I-20 or I-538 in the following manner:
"From: date To: date *
*If adjudication date is later, please adjust the dates to indicate adjudication date as the start date and 12 months later as the ending date not to exceed 14 months."
If this note is not on the application, it will be assumed by the officer that the student wants the EAD only until the actual "To:" date listed on the I-20 or I-538.
C. Regulations prohibit any extension of time for OPT applicants so the student must calculate the time carefully and submit the application 75 to 90 days ahead of the requested start date.
D. Regulations prohibit the cards being mailed to anyone other than the student's personal address. Cards cannot be mailed to the school address. [103.2(b)(19)]
Items still under management review:
1, Proper processing of the "No Objection" letter.
2. What, if anything, CSC can do about cases were the I-765 has been approved, the card has been (apparently) mailed but never received by the student.
/sheila 8-2-00