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What All International Educators Will Want to Know About STEM OPT


Kerry Geffert
Product Evangelist, Terra Dotta

 

This past Tuesday – May 10 – was an important day in international student advising that in a few years, probably will go unnoticed. But this year it is important because on that day new regulations went into effect governing Optional Practical Training for STEM majors. An update to immigration rules is nothing new; what is noteworthy, however, is how we arrived at this point and what these new regulations mean to all international educators. Rather than focus on the rule, this article focuses on the implications of the changes.

For those familiar with the new regulations, feel free to jump to the next paragraph. For those unfamiliar, here is a quick overview, courtesy of Travis Ulrich, Terra Dotta Business Development Representative:

  • The OPT Extension Period for STEM majors is lengthened from 17 to 24 months.
  • STEM OPT extension eligibility is increased from one to two times over the course of the student’s academic career.
  • The education component of participation has been strengthened and includes a new form as part of the authorization process.
  • Some students holding prior STEM-qualifying degrees are now eligible for the STEM OPT extension.
  • Department of Homeland Security officers will have greater latitude to enforce the new rules through site visits to employers, including universities that employ STEM OPT participants
     

Why is this change important?


The opportunity to obtain greater training through OPT is, of course, valuable to both the student and the employer. How this change came to be, though, shows the importance of our judicial system. The changes to STEM OPT did not come about through the typical evolution of regulatory enhancement. Instead these changes “are largely in reaction to a U.S. district court decision to vacate the current 17-month STEM OPT program,” says Ulrich. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech) filed a lawsuit alleging that the prior OPT program was being used for lower wage labor and thus unfair employment competition. “In its decision, the court upheld the original OPT program, but found that USCIS violated procedural requirements when creating the STEM OPT extension program in 2008. As a result, the court vacated the current 17-month STEM OPT program, but stayed the order until February 2016, allowing the Department of Homeland Security time to resubmit the rule for proper notice and comment. The new 24-month STEM OPT program is the result,” according to Ulrich.

The new program can be viewed as a win-win for both WashTech and STEM students. Neither party had an outright victory. Through the individualized training plan that is a required component for approval, the Alliance has some assurance that fair labor practices are being maintained by employers. STEM students and employers both benefit from the longer employment opportunity, providing for greater development of expertise. This longer period also assists those situations in which employers seek to sponsor a student as an H-1B skilled worker. While maintaining an important training program for the United States, the argument of “cheap labor” taking jobs from American workers is significantly weakened.
 

What are the implications for employers?


Employers will certainly benefit from this new program by being able to employed these skilled trainees for a longer period. This longer period aids those applying for an H-1B visa which has become increasingly competitive to obtain due to annual numerical caps. However, employers now have a significantly increased burden to document the training program for which the student is being hired. This training plan (using the form I-983) requires them to document the benefits of the training experience and requires periodic reporting. For some employers this type of documentation may be challenging and affect their interest in participating in such training opportunities; the full impact is yet to be seen. Employers also must be open to site visits from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), again, an impact yet to be observed.
 

What are the implications for International Student Advisors?


Ask a study abroad advisor how many students s/he manages and they can give you a number of students enrolled in programs during a given time period. Ask an international student advisor (ISA) and they can tell you the number students and scholars enrolled. But that’s not the full number of students for whom they are responsible. ISAs retain immigration reporting responsibility for the additional students who have graduated and are participating in OPT – students not enrolled, but under the reporting jurisdiction of the university. The new STEM OPT adds to their volume at any given time since these participants are remaining longer. And ISAs’ paperwork has now increased with the individualized training plans. More documents to be reviewed prior to submission, more documents to be retained and on which to be reported. The new regulations also expand the list of STEM majors eligible for the longer OPT period.
 

What does this mean for international education, in general?


In this year’s presidential election hoopla, immigrants and immigration have garnered more than their fair share of the limelight. Fortunately, international student matters typically are not drawn into the discussions. But the argument that international students are taking jobs from citizens is just one viral message away. As international educators we have our standard arsenal of points demonstrating the benefits of cultural exchange. These new STEM OPT regulations provide one more example of the international education community – in cooperation with the federal government and the employers – stepping up to ensure that both international students and citizens are treated fairly in the workplace while advancing our nation.

If you would like to learn more about the new STEM OPT regulations, numerous resources are available, and more will be developed. Here are just a few: