TheAmerican Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) hasreceived reports of SEVP officers conducting site visits to confirmthe details of students’ STEM OPT employment and that the Petitioner is incompliance with their attestations on the I-983.
Visitscan be either random or based on a complaint. For random visits, SEVP officers havetypically contacted the STEM OPT employee’s manager 1-2 days before the visitis to be conducted. For a complaint, there will likely be no notice given bythe SEVP officer.
Fromreported visits, the visits generally last 1-2 hours at the STEM OPT worksite.According to the DHS’s website, the visits will address:
1. How the salary of the STEM OPTemployee is determined;
2. Whether there are sufficient resourcesfrom the Petitioner to provide supervision and training of the employee; and
3. Whether the Petitioner is maintainingan employer-employee relationship with the employee.
Itis important to review your STEM OPT employee’s I-983 forms and ensure that theemployer team (especially the manager listed on the I-983) and the employee arefamiliar with the details of employment and the training plan.