A student recently faced a messy situation regarding his STEM OPT in the US. Despite reopening his case after rejection, the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) still denied his work permit.
The student’s STEM OPT was initially denied, which led to the SEVIS ID being deactivated. SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) is the government database that tracks international students in the US. Each student gets a SEVIS ID, and once it’s inactive, nothing can move forward.
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The student then filed Form I-290B—a motion to reopen or appeal the case. USCIS accepted and approved it, but that wasn’t enough.
The authorities still won’t approve the STEM OPT, which is a lifeline for students to get work after graduation. The reason was given as his SEVIS ID is still inactive following his earlier rejection.
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It gets even worse when only the DSO (Designated School Officer) can request SEVIS reactivation, but even they aren’t able to help.
The SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program), which controls SEVIS, doesn’t talk to students. It only listens to DSO, who is not responding to the student’s request.
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Even after getting their application reopened, they’re trapped in a broken process with no clear next step.
Escalating the issue or getting legal help are the only options now. This isn’t just a technical issue—it’s a system failure, putting lives, careers, and futures on hold.
