On July 6, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security officially withdrew its proposed rule to eliminate duration of status for F students and their dependents, J exchange visitors and their dependents, and I media representatives.

"OFLC intends to delay implementing the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes until July 2022. OFLC will continue using the 2010 SOC during the July 2021 through June 2022 wage year and will apply the OEWS 2019 Hybrid Structure wage estimates generated by BLS for the 2010 SOC occupations."

USCIS notified the public that the Vermont Service Center facility at St. Albans, VT is being decommissioned. The new USCIS Vermont Service Center address is in Essex Junction, VT. On its Vermont Service Center Address Change alert page, USCIS states that, "The new addresses listed ... will not be in effect until June 25, 2021. Please continue to use the St. Albans addresses in the below chart under “Previous Address” through June 24, 2021." The USCIS alert page also says that "Mail sent to the previous addresses will be forwarded for one year, but any mail sent to the previous addresses after June 2022 may be returned to the sender by the United States Postal Service or the courier service used."

On June 21, 2021, NAFSA and the President's Alliance led 151 higher ed institutions in submitting an amicus brief to the appeals court in support of OPT in the ongoing WashTech litigation. "This brief describes the scope and importance of OPT to American colleges and universities."

NAFSA's International Student Scholar Regulatory Practice (ISS RP) Committee organized two "Government Connection" sessions to supplement the NAFSA 2021 annual conference agency-focused sessions. Session 1 - CIS Ombudsman: Current Issues; Session 2 - U.S. Department of Labor: Current Issues. You do not need to have registered for the annual conference to access these sessions, but you do need to be a NAFSA member.

The Biden Administration posted the Spring 2021 Regulatory Agenda to Reginfo.gov on June 14, 2021. NAFSA has compiled the immigration-related regulatory actions most relevant to institutions that invite international students and scholars to the United States.

New rules expanding Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation opportunities for students engaged in college sports raise the question of whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would consider compensated NIL arrangements as "employment" for purposes of maintaining nonimmigrant status, and if so, whether the student athlete's immigration status permits such employment.

In the Spring 2021 regulatory agenda, DHS announced that it intends to withdraw the proposed rule to eliminate duration of status (D/S) that it had published on September 25, 2020.

A 06/10/21 USCIS news alert describes additional temporary filing flexibilities for benefits filers impacted by USCIS Lockbox delays. These flexibilities are in addition to the OPT filing flexibilities, still in effect, that were announced on February 26, 2021.

On June 10, 2021, NAFSA joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and other U.S higher ed organizations to request a briefing from the State Department on the implications of Proclamation 10043 on international students and scholars. The Trump-era proclamation, still in effect, suspends entry of certain Chinese students and researchers connected to the PRC "Military-Civil Fusion Strategy."