Client Reminder: Forms I-20 Must be Endorsed for Foreign National Employees on CPT Status

Truescreen has seen an increased number of Subjects presenting stale or incomplete Forms I-20 during the Form I-9 process.

As we all know, the Form I-9 process is exceedingly complicated, especially for foreign national employees. With foreign national employees (FNE) who derive their work authorization through their status as a student, the process becomes even more complicated because each type of work authorization is evinced by a different work authorization document combination.

There are generally eight ways for foreign students to obtain employment authorization in the United States:¹

• On-Campus Employment, which is documented by recording the program end date from the Form I-20 on Section 1 of Form I-9 and recording the Foreign Passport and Form I-94 information in Section 2.
• Curricular Practical Training, which is documented by recording the CPT program end date from the Employment Authorization field of Form I-20 on Section 1 of Form I-9 and recording either a Foreign Passport, Form I-94, and Form I-20 combination in List A of Section 2 or recording an identity document and Form I-20 as a List B and C document combination while adding the Form I-94 information in the Additional Information field of Section 2. Importantly, the Form I-20 must have the Employment Authorization section completed and list the hiring employer.²
• Off-Campus Severe Hardship, which is documented by placing the Form I-766 (EAD) expiration date in Section 1 and recording the EAD information in Section 2.
• Off-Campus Sponsored by an International Organization, which is documented by placing the EAD expiration date in Section 1 and recording the EAD information in Section 2.
• Optional Practical Training (OPT), which is documented by placing the EAD expiration date in Section 1 and recording the EAD information in Section 2.
• OPT STEM Extension, which is documented by placing the EAD expiration date in Section 1 and recording the EAD information in Section 2 after examining the Form I-20 to determine if the individual has been recommended by their Designated School Officer (DSO) for STEM OPT. The FNE will then have 180 days to present their EAD showing "STEM OPT" for reverification.
• STEM OPT, which is documented by placing the EAD expiration date in Section 1 and recording the EAD information in Section 2.
• CAP-GAP, which is documented by placing the EAD expiration date in Section 1 and recording the EAD information in Section 2 after examining the Form I-797C to determine if a Form I-129 has been filed on their behalf. The FNE would then have until October 1 to present their Form I-94 for reverification.

Truescreen has noticed an extreme increase in FNEs attempting to complete Form I-9 while in CPT status with a Form I-20 that has a blank Employment Authorization section as shown below.

This error could mean that the FNE never received an updated Form I-20 endorsed for CPT employment from their DSO, or that they simply forgot to bring the most current Form I-20 to their Form I-9 completion appointment. Clients are urged to remind FNEs to work with their DSOs to always have the most up-to-date copy of Form I-20, not only for Form I-9 reasons but to serve as proof of immigration status. USCIS recently stated in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that "An F-1 student is expected to retain for safekeeping the initial Form I-20 or successor form bearing the admission number and any subsequent Form I-20 issued to them. Should the student lose their current Form I-20 or successor form, a replacement copy bearing the same information as the lost copy, including any endorsement for employment and notations, should be issued by the ... DSO ...."³

If you have any questions, please contact your Truescreen account manager for more information.

Posted: March 17, 2023

¹ These same rules can be found on the USCIS website, here.

² ICE guidance on CPT, OPT, and STEM OPT can be found here.

³ See 87 FR 75891, at 75903 available here.