Introducing the UA PAC: Public Comments on OPT for F-1 visa students

Mon Nov 16 19:50:21 EST 2015

Dear undergraduates,

I hope this e-mail finds you well.

I am Daniel Wang, '16 and chair of the UA Public Affairs Committee. We are
a brand-new committee and our mission is "To educate MIT undergraduates
about their potential impact in the public sector as well as to establish
and maintain collaborative relationships with governmental entities in
order to connect undergraduates with opportunities to make positive and
meaningful impacts on society."

We would like to present such an opportunity.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently taking public
comments on a Proposed Rule regarding the STEM Extension to Optional
Practical Training (OPT) made available to international students on F-1
visas. Many of you are likely planning to make use of OPT after you finish
your degrees or have friends who will do so. *We strongly encourage you to
read on and consider submitting a public comment letter of your own.*

The UA Public Affairs Committee has prepared a letter on behalf of the full
undergraduate student body expressing our general support for OPT, the STEM
OPT Extension, and for the quick response by DHS to recent court actions
that threatened the extension. A copy of our letter is attached.

OPT and the STEM OPT Extension are being scrutinized and criticized by many
sources, including US legislators, many non-governmental organizations, and
even officials within DHS. It is important that we express our support for
these programs. *It is particularly valuable that DHS receive personalized
messages from many individuals that support or personally benefit from
these programs.*

To help make it easy for you to submit a comment of your own, we’ve
prepared a short personalizable draft letter that you can make your own
(2nd attachment) and provided links below you can follow to learn more
about OPT and submit your comment.

Our third attachment describes a couple of important details on the
standard OPT period and STEM OPT Extensions and highlights some of the
noteworthy changes between the old STEM OPT Extension rule and the new
Proposed Rule. You might want to comment on some of these items, or read
more about them at the links below.

*Submit your letters to the Federal Register by 11:59pm Eastern Time on
November 18th, 2015!*

Best regards,

Daniel Wang

Chair, MIT UA Public Affairs Committee

P.S.

Informative Links:

Federal Register page on the Proposed Rule
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=xVDHgN6_v3FuXrmA7pckFMIZkpoLzFakue6hHGQc8z8rMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAcwA6AC8ALwB3AHcAdwAuAGYAZQBkAGUAcgBhAGwAcgBlAGcAaQBzAHQAZQByAC4AZwBvAHYALwBhAHIAdABpAGMAbABlAHMALwAyADAAMQA1AC8AMQAwAC8AMQA5AC8AMgAwADEANQAtADIANgAzADkANQAvAGkAbQBwAHIAbwB2AGkAbgBnAC0AYQBuAGQALQBlAHgAcABhAG4AZABpAG4AZwAtAHQAcgBhAGkAbgBpAG4AZwAtAG8AcABwAG8AcgB0AHUAbgBpAHQAaQBlAHMALQBmAG8AcgAtAGYALQAxAC0AbgBvAG4AaQBtAG0AaQBnAHIAYQBuAHQALQBzAHQAdQBkAGUAbgB0AHMALQB3AGkAdABoAC0AcwB0AGUAbQAtAGQAZQBnAHIAZQBlAHMALQBhAG4AZAA.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.federalregister.gov%2farticles%2f2015%2f10%2f19%2f2015-26395%2fimproving-and-expanding-training-opportunities-for-f-1-nonimmigrant-students-with-stem-degrees-and>

NAFSA Summary of STEM OPT Developments
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=c60t9sfXaQ1oZjz9hbT1LkOFRaEtDXkWIwas1PVN5B4rMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAOgAvAC8AdwB3AHcALgBuAGEAZgBzAGEALgBvAHIAZwAvAEYAaQBuAGQAXwBSAGUAcwBvAHUAcgBjAGUAcwAvAFMAdQBwAHAAbwByAHQAaQBuAGcAXwBJAG4AdABlAHIAbgBhAHQAaQBvAG4AYQBsAF8AUwB0AHUAZABlAG4AdABzAF8AQQBuAGQAXwBTAGMAaABvAGwAYQByAHMALwBJAFMAUwBfAEkAcwBzAHUAZQBzAC8ASQBzAHMAdQBlAHMALwBGAG8AYwB1AHMAXwBPAG4AXwBTAFQARQBNAF8ATwBQAFQALwA.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nafsa.org%2fFind_Resources%2fSupporting_International_Students_And_Scholars%2fISS_Issues%2fIssues%2fFocus_On_STEM_OPT%2f>

*NAFSA detailed writeup on the Proposed Rule
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=uU8jxfJQSpmAsf_LXX8R7_J2K7-P-kIcVSC-u5p9l9ErMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAOgAvAC8AdwB3AHcALgBuAGEAZgBzAGEALgBvAHIAZwAvAEYAaQBuAGQAXwBSAGUAcwBvAHUAcgBjAGUAcwAvAFMAdQBwAHAAbwByAHQAaQBuAGcAXwBJAG4AdABlAHIAbgBhAHQAaQBvAG4AYQBsAF8AUwB0AHUAZABlAG4AdABzAF8AQQBuAGQAXwBTAGMAaABvAGwAYQByAHMALwBJAFMAUwBfAEkAcwBzAHUAZQBzAC8AUwBUAEUATQBfAE8AUABUAF8AUgB1AGwAZQBtAGEAawBpAG4AZwAvAA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nafsa.org%2fFind_Resources%2fSupporting_International_Students_And_Scholars%2fISS_Issues%2fSTEM_OPT_Rulemaking%2f>*

*NAFSA guidance on writing good public comment letters
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=8yZkBOHtTNLkVMxj58jtV2d_BpM4tPVRfbqm-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&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nafsa.org%2fFind_Resources%2fSupporting_International_Students_And_Scholars%2fNetwork_Resources%2fInternational_Student_and_Scholar_Services%2fTips_for_Writing_a_Useful_Government_Comment_Letter%2f>*

*Video summaries of major provisions of the Proposed Rule
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=opQZIKURKtlU_dQj1YL7dyrkKcEddagTYOrSqobsmw4rMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAOgAvAC8AdwB3AHcALgBoAGEAcABwAHkAcwBjAGgAbwBvAGwAcwAuAGMAbwBtAC8AcwB1AG0AbQBhAHIAeQAtAHAAcgBvAHAAbwBzAGUAZAAtADIANAAtAG0AbwBuAHQAaABzAC0AcwB0AGUAbQAtAG8AcAB0AC0AZQB4AHQAZQBuAHMAaQBvAG4ALQByAHUAbABlAC8A&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.happyschools.com%2fsummary-proposed-24-months-stem-opt-extension-rule%2f>*

*An additional draft letter from an immigration attorney
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=roEYoNdROk2uOVPVq6cW6C4R0xuP6qAprjXoIM_5YVgrMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAOgAvAC8AaQBtAG0AaQBnAHIAYQB0AGkAbwBuAGcAaQByAGwALgBjAG8AbQAvAGQAcgBhAGYAdAAtAGMAbwBtAG0AZQBuAHQALQBmAG8AcgAtAG8AcAB0AC0AcwB0AHUAZABlAG4AdABzAC0AYQB3AGEAaQB0AGkAbgBnAC0AcwB0AGUAbQAtAGUAeAB0AGUAbgBzAGkAbwBuAC0AcgB1AGwAZQAvAA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fimmigrationgirl.com%2fdraft-comment-for-opt-students-awaiting-stem-extension-rule%2f>*

*An LASC Webpage with all of these resources.
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=U9irtpO4egpkAsDgrj49q1dGoK6V3o6KQRyGy-yJXhsrMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAOgAvAC8AZwBzAGMALgBtAGkAdAAuAGUAZAB1AC8AbgBlAHcAbAB5AC0AcAByAG8AcABvAHMAZQBkAC0AZgAtADEALQBzAHQAdQBkAGUAbgB0AC0AbwBwAHQAaQBvAG4AYQBsAC0AcAByAGEAYwB0AGkAYwBhAGwALQB0AHIAYQBpAG4AaQBuAGcALQBvAHAAdAAtAHIAdQBsAGUAcwAvAA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fgsc.mit.edu%2fnewly-proposed-f-1-student-optional-practical-training-opt-rules%2f>*

The letter we sent
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oMyawzRPVvG60KMTGUG4Je9J3qtIUNRi3Ur6WcNWm7s/edit?usp=sharing>

How to submit your public comment letter:

1.                      Fill in some information about yourself and your
story in either our draft letter or the alternate draft letter in the links
above.

2.                      Go to the Federal Register page on the proposed rule
<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=xVDHgN6_v3FuXrmA7pckFMIZkpoLzFakue6hHGQc8z8rMHtCse7SCGgAdAB0AHAAcwA6AC8ALwB3AHcAdwAuAGYAZQBkAGUAcgBhAGwAcgBlAGcAaQBzAHQAZQByAC4AZwBvAHYALwBhAHIAdABpAGMAbABlAHMALwAyADAAMQA1AC8AMQAwAC8AMQA5AC8AMgAwADEANQAtADIANgAzADkANQAvAGkAbQBwAHIAbwB2AGkAbgBnAC0AYQBuAGQALQBlAHgAcABhAG4AZABpAG4AZwAtAHQAcgBhAGkAbgBpAG4AZwAtAG8AcABwAG8AcgB0AHUAbgBpAHQAaQBlAHMALQBmAG8AcgAtAGYALQAxAC0AbgBvAG4AaQBtAG0AaQBnAHIAYQBuAHQALQBzAHQAdQBkAGUAbgB0AHMALQB3AGkAdABoAC0AcwB0AGUAbQAtAGQAZQBnAHIAZQBlAHMALQBhAG4AZAA.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.federalregister.gov%2farticles%2f2015%2f10%2f19%2f2015-26395%2fimproving-and-expanding-training-opportunities-for-f-1-nonimmigrant-students-with-stem-degrees-and>
.

3.                      Click the green button, upper right, “Submit a
formal comment”

4.                      You can either fill in text or attach a file. We
recommend attaching a PDF.

5.                      *Submit your comment!*

*NOTE:* Your public comment letter will be *publicly viewable* at the
Federal Register page with the full docket for this Proposed Rule. DHS will
do their best to filter out personally identifiable information that should
not be public, but be cognizant of this while drafting your letter.
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