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2018年5月10日，移民局曾公布了一份关于在美F/J/M学生如何计算非法滞留时间的的草案，预计在2018年8月9日生效，邀请公众评议，截止时间是2018年6月11日。

很多F1学生感觉非法滞留这件事情离自己很远，并且很多新闻中把这份新政称为“逾期滞留”，让很多F1学生感觉自己只要项目结束按时办身份或者回国，这个新政和自己无关。当时各路媒体关于这份草案的新闻虽然火了一把，又像其他的头条一般随即湮没。

宋和孟律师事务所在过去的将近一个月内发现很多学生对于这份草案新规有这样几个常见的错误认识：

• 移民局已经决定要实施这个新规了，也就是8月9日生效
• 自己只要不在项目或者OPT结束后非法滞留就没有问题
• 这份新规定只是移民局打击逾期滞留人员的，对按部就班读书的学生没有实质影响

如果你有上述想法，那就大错特错了。在CPT，OPT, 和STEM OPT以及F/J/M相关规定一天一个样的当前，这份新政和所有在读的学生有关。如果你曾有过下面的困惑，那你就要特别小心这个可能被实施的新规定：

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By Xiaojie (Marta) Meng, Deok (Doug) Song

On May 10, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) proposed a policy memo regarding the accrual of unlawful presence for F (student), J (exchange visitor), and M (vocational student) nonimmigrants. USCIS seeks public comment regarding the proposed changes until June 11, 2018.

The proposed changes unfairly applies the law and triggers unlawful presence accrual for unsuspecting F, J, and M nonimmigrants who may not reasonably know about technical violations of status until years after the fact. Also, the proposed rule is inconsistent with existing statutes, regulations, and interpretations. The new policy change will create unintended legal and practical problems for all interested parties, including the U.S. government, nonimmigrants in these status, and the general public associated with these individuals. Thus, we respectfully and strongly urge USCIS to reconsider the implementation of the proposed policy and withdraw the proposed memo to take more time to thoroughly review it.

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Department of State released the June 2018 Visa Bulletin. You can access the copy of the Visa Bulletin on the Department of State website here.Read More

过去的几天里，宋和孟律师事务所陆续看到今年受名额限制的H1B的申请费支票被移民局兑现。这意味着今年的H1B抽签结果已经开始逐步揭晓。。

宋和孟律师事务所在这里先祝贺各位已经发现自己支票被兑现的同学，也借此机会跟大家介绍下抽签结果揭晓的流程，希望可以帮助各位同学在等待期间安心稍许。

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USCIS announced on April 11, 2018 that it has completed the computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated number of petitions for regular cap and master’s cap for fiscal year (FY) 2019.Read More

Department of State released the May 2018 Visa Bulletin. You can access the copy of the Visa Bulletin on the Department of State website here.Read More

今年申请H1B的各位申请人，想必都已经成功递件到了移民局，正在等待H1B的抽签结果揭晓。递交了H1B申请后，可能有些申请人会发现，自己的学生身份或者OPT快要过期。那么这段时间是否还能继续留在美国？

宋和孟律师事务所（Song & Meng, PC）常常收到有关F1/OPT和H1B过渡、衔接的疑问与咨询。为了方便大家了解这中间的注意事项，孟小洁律师就有关F1/OPT结束和H1B生效之间的过渡时间，即Cap Gap的相关问题，在本文为大家作一番解说。

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On April 6, 2018, USCIS announced that it has reached the 65,000 H-1B visa Regular Cap and the 20,000 visa H-1B Masters Cap for the 2019 Fiscal Year.Read More

2018年3月20日，移民局发布公告，2018年受名额限制的H1B，也就是要抽签的H1B，将暂停接受加急处理，持续到9月10日。

这个消息出来以后，宋和孟律师事务所收到了大量客户的焦急问询，想了解这对他们的影响有哪些。尤其是去年移民局在H1B申请季节全面暂停加急，拖慢了整个H1B申请的进度，产生了一些消极影响。

孟小洁律师就大家最关心的几个话题，在这里一并跟大家分析下移民局暂停H1B加急服务的影响，希望可以帮助大家提早安排规划。

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USCIS announced its decision to temporarily suspend premium processing for all Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B Cap petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher, starting April 2, 2018. This suspension is expected to last until Sept. 10, 2018.Read More