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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Federal Register notice in mid-July announcing eight (8) additional Classification of Industrial Programs (CIP) codes to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
This List of CIP Codes is used when an international student is considering a 24-month STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension to an F-1 visa. OPT is a 12-month work permission available to certain F-1 nonimmigrant students to obtain real-world work experience related to a student’s major area of study. STEM OPT is an additional 24-month extension after a student exhausts their 12-month OPT and have received a degree in an approved STEM field of study pursuant to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. The full STEM CIP codes can be found here: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/stemList2023.pdf.
The eight new fields of study are as followed:
- Landscape Architecture (04.0601);
- Institutional Research (13.0608);
- Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician (15.0407);
- Composite Materials Technology/Technician (15.0617);
- Linguistics and Computer Science (30.4801);
- Developmental and Adolescent Psychology (42.2710);
- Geospatial Intelligence (43.0407); and
- Demography and Population Students (45.0501).
If you or an international student you know is seeking counsel with OPT, contact the Law Office of Jacqueline Lentini, LLC at jacki@lentinivisas.com or call at +1 630-262-1435.