Trump Is Killing OPT – International Students Work Visa

Trump has made a new regulation for the optional practice training students in the US. The new agenda states that there will be stricter laws for the student who possesses the M and F visas. 

The international students usually use a program called OPT under which they can work for one year after the completion of their degree. The work is in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. These students get a two-year extension on their visas, giving them a window of three years to work in the US after they graduate. 

Trump sounded more inclined towards the anti-immigrant party, who believe that the foreigners are already taking up the jobs of the locals. The two visas types of visas given to international students are F visas and M visas. The M visa is for the immigrants who come to the US for vocational training, and the F visa is for the students who come to the US for academia. 

Mitchell Wexler, a partner at a global law firm of immigration-Fragomen, said that the rules on the OPT students would be announced in August 2020. He further stated that the US immigration and Custom Reinforcement would amend the law and restrict the OPT currently available to international students.

On 16th October, TOI reported that ICE claimed another guidance concerning the designated school officials. This was done to confirm that students working during their graduate training should be on posts that align with the major of their study program.

Many surveys are being held to check the number of students deployed at the STEM OPT. The new regulation still does not tell whether the tenure of the OPT given will also be amended or not. 

Usually, for any law to be implemented, it first has to be published, after which a sixty-day duration is given for the public to comment on it. The final draft is sent to the OMB, Office of Management and Budget, after reviewing the comments of the people. After weeks of studying, the last post is forwarded to the Federal Register. The outcome of the regulation is registered at the federal register, after which the date is announced from when the rule will be implemented.

The rule, even if announced in August 2020, the students enrolled in the mid of 2021 will be affected by the new standard of OPT given to them. 

The students may face challenges after the new regulation for OPT is announced. The students may have lesser years granted in their tenure of OPT. The visas will be issued for a specific period rather than the whole duration of their studies. 

Currently, 2.02 Lacs Indian students are in the streams of STEM. Amongst the listed Indians, 34.2 per cent are in Engineering, whereas 37 percent come under the stream of mathematics and computer sciences. 

In the edition of July 16th, the TOI reported that a lawsuit was filed by Wash-Tech, disputing the claim of the OPT program. On November 8th, CIS, centre for immigration studies, also supported the Wash-Tech.