Neel is a citizen of India who entered the United States in F-1 status to pursue a Master's degree in Civil Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Neel completed his studies and earned his Master's degree in December 2016 and received optional practical training (OPT) in February 2017 for 18 months to work at ABC Engineering LLC in Troy, New York. Neel has been offered full-time employment as a Civil Engineer with the State of New York Department of Transportation. Neel and his prospective manager, Mr. Smith, have scheduled a consultation with your office about changing Neel's status to H-1B. During the course of reviewing Neel's resume for the consultation as well as his Linkedin profile, you notice that Neel starting working for ABC Engineering in October 2016 and he also lists employment as an Engineering Intern for approximate 2 months each summer from 2013 to 2015 with various engineering firms in New York State, where he conducted research on legal codes governing transportation structures, prepared drafts of engineering plans, and called prospective contractors to determine their rates and availability for bids within the state