USCIS has announced flexible measures for certain international students who had experienced delays in receiving their receipt notices for OPT.

International students facing OPT application delays have filed a lawsuit against USCIS and US ICE in a bid to have applications processed in "timely manner".

Preliminary numbers from the IIE show the early impact of pandemic on international mobility in the US, with a survey of 1,670 institutions suggesting a drop of 13,055 international scholars in the last academic year.

A US judge has upheld the STEM OPT program by ruling that the DHS did not exceed its statutory authority in issuing the 2016 OPT Program Rule. 

Biden began his presidency by signing a range of executive orders, which US educators say indicate a more favourable climate for international education.

International students say they are ready to mount a legal challenge if they are forced to leave the US due to delays around OPT processing.  

US-China relations will be a major theme under the Biden administration, panelists at a NAFSA event have predicted.

US authorities have threatened to "terminate" designated school officials who they claim are engaged in "wilful ignorance or a level of negligence" when placing students in OPT programs, as they announced 15 arrests as a result of work permit fraud.