FW: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath
An update on the issue.
-----Original Message-----
From: Srini raghu [mailto:sra...@utdallas.edu]
Sent: Mon 3/2/2009 10:15 AM
To: Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath; Thouin, Mark F
Subject: RE: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Hi Srinath:
I talked to David Ritchey about this issue. He has requested the registrar
to change the effective date. He is waiting for a response and is expecting
it this week. Since this is a legal issue, the dean's office here at SOM and
the registrar's office are involved with the issue. I have talked to the
relevant parties, but the decision is not in my hands. I hope that the issue
is resolved satisfactorily soon.
Raghu
-----Original Message-----
From: Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath [mailto:sri...@student.utdallas.edu]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 9:00 AM
To: Srini raghu; Thouin, Mark F
Subject: RE: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Hello Professors,
I just wanted to follow up with you to check, if you have any updates on
this issue.
Please do not mind me pressing on this issue, because, as you might have
already known the H1B quota opens on the 1st of April, every year and gets
closed on the same day itself.
If we do not have an extension, we all need to find an employer who could
offer sponsorship our H! visa , within this one month. But, given this slow
economy, this is going to be close to impossible. Personally, I am very
close to getting a couple of offers in very good companies, but due to the
new rules and the stimulus package they cant sponsor H1B this year. If I did
have the extension, I could have taken this up for now and could have asked
them to sponsor my visa for the next year.
There are many other people with very similar stories to share. Also, there
is a general resentment that, if they had known before they could have
postponed their graduation by one more semester.
So, with all due to respect, it would be great to have some updates at the
earliest. It would definitely make a great difference to a lot of our lives
and careers.
Thanks,
Srinath Sivaramakrishnan.
248-752-1274(M)
-----Original Message-----
From: Srini raghu [mailto:sra...@utdallas.edu]
Sent: Fri 2/20/2009 10:04 AM
To: Thouin, Mark F
Cc: Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath
Subject: FW: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Mark:
Please see what can be done to deal with the issue raised by Srinath.
Raghu
-----Original Message-----
From: Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath [mailto:sri...@student.utdallas.edu]
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 9:52 AM
To: Raghunathan, Srinivasan
Subject: FW: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Dear Dr. Raghu,
Hope you have been doing good.
Please find below an email clarification from ISSO that states that the 29
month OPT extension rule holds good only for MS ITM students graduating from
Spring 2009 and all those who graduated prior to that, fall under the old
CIP uneligible for extension.
However, this fact was not properly communicated to us and most of the
International community I have been interacting with are under the
impression that this extension rule holds for everyone. This has come as a
real shock to a lot of us as we had made plans keeping the 29-month OPT in
mind. With close to one month left to find employers who could potentially
sponsor H1 visa in case we dont have the extension, things are in pretty bad
shape for a lot of the people.
If this fact was communicated well in advance, most of us could have planned
our graduation in Spring 2009 or later to take advantage of the rule.
With all due respect, I am not writing this email to blame anyone, but just
requesting you to see if anything could be done with immediate effect to
include Fall 2008 graduates as well, as time is running out for most of us.
I am sure you do understand the impact of this sudden news and just want to
let you know that a lot of us would really appreciate it if anything could
be done about it.
Please note the below:
______________________________
ISSO states that the program code has been changed on 09/01/2008
http://www.utdallas.edu/student/international/current/optextension.html
There is no mention about this being effective from Spring 2009
Official department communication dated 10/01/2008.
"Good Morning,
I hope everyone is doing well. I received news that should be of interest
to all international students enrolled in the Master of Science in
Information Technology Management program. The proposal to re-classify the
MS in ITM program as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
discipline has been approved. Accordingly, the time allowed for optional
practical training (OPT) has been increased to 29 months. After graduating
from the MS in ITM program, international students may work for any employer
in the US using their current F1 visa for a period up-to 29 months. This is
good news that should positively affect those seeking employment
opportunities in the US. Feel free to forward this e-mail to others that
may be interested.
Thanks."
Thanks,
Srinath Sivaramakrishnan.
-----Original Message-----
From: ISSO UTD Current Student
Sent: Thu 2/19/2009 5:38 PM
To: Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath
Subject: RE: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Dear Student, I understand your concern. This is the policy of UTD because
students with the MITM major who graduated in fall would have the MITM major
connected to the old CIP code and only students who graduate in spring will
have the MITM major connected with the new code that is on the STEM list.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 6:10 PM
To: ISSO UTD Current Student
Subject: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Importance: High
Hello,
This is a question regarding the 29 OPT extension for MS ITM (MIS) Graduates
in Fall 2008. I learned that , it was mentioned during the Immigration
Attorney Seminar on 18-Feb-2009 that MIS at UTD has been listed under STEM
codes only from Spring 2009 and that ITM students who graduated before this
time are not eligible for 17 month extension.
However, the ISSO link below mentions that ITM has been listed under STEM
from 09/01/2008.
http://www.utdallas.edu/student/international/current/optextension.html
Also please find pasted an email from a professor in the department
officially communicating that ITM has been added to the STEM code.
____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thouin, Mark F <mxt0...@utdallas.edu>
Date: Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Subject: Master of Science in Information Technology Management Update
To: Abhijeet Ghuge <aghijee...@gmail.com>, "Agarwal, Priyanka"
<pxa0...@utdallas.edu>, "Ajmani, Akshay" <axa0...@utdallas.edu>, Akhil
Jain <akhi...@student.utdallas.edu>, Anteneh Kassa
<antene...@mail.doc.gov>, Ashok Ramadass <axr0...@utdallas.edu>,
Avinash Gaikivad <avinash...@gmail.com>, Baiju Nagori
<baiju...@gmail.com>, "Brimer, Dale P" <dpb0...@utdallas.edu>, Deepak
Ravindran <deepakra...@yahoo.com>, "Deshmukh, Dushyant V"
<dvd0...@utdallas.edu>, Gabriel Nica <gsn0...@utdallas.edu>, Garima
Trivedi <garim...@gmail.com>, "Gulati, Pooja" <pxg0...@utdallas.edu>,
"Gupta, Divya" <dxg0...@utdallas.edu>, "Gupta, Shipra"
<sxg0...@utdallas.edu>, "Hosangadi, Amita" <aph0...@utdallas.edu>,
"Kuduva Devadoss, Ratheesh K" <rkk0...@utdallas.edu>, "Kulkarni, Vineet"
<vxk0...@utdallas.edu>, Lakshmi Goginent <Lakshmi.c...@gmail.com>,
"Mahendrakumar, Revathy" <rxm0...@utdallas.edu>, "Mandlecha, Saloni"
<sxm0...@utdallas.edu>, Max Alcala <maa0...@utdallas.edu>, "Minawat,
Mayank" <mxm0...@utdallas.edu>, Mohit Malhan <msm0...@utdallas.edu>,
Nahed Khairallah <nahedkh...@gmail.com>, Nimish Patil
<nimis...@gmail.com>, oluf...@sbcglobal.net, "P D, Nitin"
<nxp0...@utdallas.edu>, "Poapongsakorn, Ekaluck" <exp0...@utdallas.edu>,
Prachi Rathore <pxr0...@utdallas.edu>, Pragya Singh
<Pragya...@student.utdallas.edu>, Prerana Singh
<preran...@student.utdallas.edu>, "Prodduturi, Swetha"
<sxp0...@utdallas.edu>, Rajiv Karanam <Rajiv....@gmail.com>,
Rungumaraj Nachimuthe <senthilk...@gmail.com>, "Sajid, Turabia"
<txs0...@utdallas.edu>, "Salian, Uttam S" <uss0...@utdallas.edu>,
Shruthi Srinivas <sks0...@utdallas.edu>, Siddhesh Sheth
<Siddhes...@gmail.com>, Srinath Sivaramarisknan <sri...@gmail.com>,
"Thimmaiah, Chetranda N" <tnc0...@utdallas.edu>, TK Khen
<tkk...@gmail.com>, "Trinh, Kevin" <kxt0...@utdallas.edu>, "Trivedi,
Zarana H" <zht0...@utdallas.edu>, "Tsai, Wang-Ting"
<wxt0...@utdallas.edu>, "Venugopal, Giri S" <gsv0...@utdallas.edu>,
Williss L Seng <willis...@student.utdallas.edu>
Good Morning,
I hope everyone is doing well. I received news that should be of interest
to all international students enrolled in the Master of Science in
Information Technology Management program. The proposal to re-classify the
MS in ITM program as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
discipline has been approved. Accordingly, the time allowed for optional
practical training (OPT) has been increased to 29 months. After graduating
from the MS in ITM program, international students may work for any employer
in the US using their current F1 visa for a period up-to 29 months. This is
good news that should positively affect those seeking employment
opportunities in the US. Feel free to forward this e-mail to others that
may be interested.
Thanks.
____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
Could you please clarify if the 17 month extension would be applicable for
students who graduated before Spring 2009.
Thanks,
Srinath Sivaramakrishnan.
Anand Shenoy
From: "Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath" <sri...@student.utdallas.edu>
To: misa...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, March 2, 2009 1:45:14 PM
Subject: misa-utd: FW: Clarification on OPT Extension rule for MS ITM Graduates
Srinath Sivaramakrishnan
The ISSO website mentions that the CIP code for MS ITM was changed only in September.
http://www.utdallas.edu/student/international/current/optextension.html
So, I am not really sure, if this would apply for Summer 08 grads, since the code was changed after you guys graduated. What we are trying to change here is the school policy that specifies that this change (though it happened in September 2008 itself) would be effective from Jan 2009. So I think you might first want to check with ISSO to see if anything can be done at all.
Cheers,
Srinath.