International Students and STEM OPT
The Trump administration may soon attempt to eliminate via regulation STEM OPT (Optional Practical Training), the primary way the United States allows F-1 international students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields to work in America after graduation. Today, 81 percent of the full-time graduate students at U.S. universities in electrical engineering and 79 percent in computer science are international students. Preventing talented foreign born science and engineering students from working in America after graduation would harm the American economy.
Arguments for ending STEM OPT would only make sense if there were no global economy and the U.S. economy possessed only a fixed number of jobs. However, such an alternative world does not exist. In reality, international students have choices on where to study and work, and U.S. companies possess the option of placing new hires in China, India, Canada or almost anywhere else on the globe. International students are vital to U.S. employers, universities and the American economy. The federal government should facilitate, rather than block, the ability of international students to work in the United States after being educated at U.S. universities.
Anderson, S. (2017). International Students and STEM OPT. National Foundation for American Policy. Retrieved from http://nfap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/International-Students-and-STEM-OPT.NFAP-Policy-Brief.October-20171.pdf