Top issues reported to NAFSA IssueNet from April-July 2018.

On August 6, 2018, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program sent this broadcast message to SEVIS users, identifying data interface issues between USCIS' CLAIMS system and SEVIS, and commenting on the agencies' efforts to resolve those issues.

Notes from the September 6, 2018, USCIS Ombudsman teleconference on USCIS' new RFE policy.

In a September 28, 2108 news alert, USCIS reminded F-1 students who had received "cap-gap" extensions of their OPT, that their cap-gap employment authorization ends on September 30, 2018. The USCIS reminder included a warning that working beyond that date, unless supported by some other type of work

The Exchange Visitor Subcommittee of NAFSA's International Student and Scholar Regulatory Practice Committee (ISSRP) prepared a summary of the questions and responses from the 2018 Annual Conference session, "U.S. Department of State and Exchange Visitors: Current Issues," presented at the

Summaries of engagements with the DOS Exchange Visitor Program, prepared by the Exchange Visitor Subcommittee of NAFSA's International Student and Scholar Regulatory Practice Committee (ISSRP).

The Employment-Based Subcommittee of NAFSA's International Student and Scholar Regulatory Practice Committee (ISS RP) developed this list of key takeaways for practitioners in higher education, from notes taken at the Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Stakeholder

On August 10, 2018, the Department of State issued Guidance Directive 2018-01 - College and University Student Category: Avoiding Unskilled Placements in Academic Training and Student Internship Programs. The directive communicates the Department's perspective on a number of aspects of the J-1

On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule entitled Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds. DHS published the final rule on August 14, 2019.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced that SEVIS Release 6.41, scheduled to be implemented on October 26, 2018, will change how SEVIS calculates days of unemployment while a student is on standard or STEM post-completion optional practical training (OPT).