Cases & Developments

Comment Letter from the American Council on Education (ACE) and 19 other higher education associations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on its NPRM “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers.” The letter expresses support for multiple provisions of the NPRM, including those that would shift to a beneficiary-centric lottery system in the H-1B registration process, codify the current deference policy that requires consideration of prior determinations when there have been no material changes that would adversely impact an application, provide greater flexibility for graduating students seeking to move from Optional Practical Training into an H-1B position, and eliminating the requirement that applicants provide an itinerary if their work or training will occur in more than one location. The letter expresses concern about a proposed change to the definition and process for determining when a position involves a “specialty occupation,” noting that it would limit the potential pool of applicants for many faculty positions (such as in engineering programs) for which required specialization need not be in a specifically identified subspecialty.