International students in some majors will now have the opportunity to apply for work visas that could extend their time in the United States from 12 months to 29.
A new U.S. Optional Practical Training rule was instated April 8 that would allow students already participating in the 12-month OPT rule to apply for an extension of their work visas for an additional 17 months.
This extension, however, is only available to students earning bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees or PhDs in the science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields.
Laurie Cox, University of Wisconsin’s International Student Services director, said this is something educators are “very happy” to learn about, even if she was surprised to hear it was only for certain students.
According to Cox, this addition to the OPT rule was encouraged by Bill Gates and a group of scientists who created the program and pushed it through the U.S. government, claiming it could make national companies more competitive with international students on board.
This rule lets international students work longer in the U.S. and allows them more time to apply for a H1B visa, which authorizes international employees to work for up to six years in the country.
“There are only 85,000 positions one can have under this visa,” Cox said. “This year, over 150,000 students applied for [the visa].”
One stipulation for the extended work visa, however, is that international students must work at companies that use the E-Verify system.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, E-Verify is an Internet-based system that provides an automated link to federal databases to help employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.
Cox said she is worried this could possibly be a “roadblock” for students looking to get a job to extend their visas. The Homeland Security Department reported in February 53,000 employers nationwide have registered for E-Verify.
According to a statement released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE’s Student Exchange Visitor Program Information System, which keeps track of international students and exchange visitors, will be transferred to an electronic database to increase efficiency.
Fees for this program will be increased starting Oct. 1 from $100 to $200 for international students with F1 student visas, which students pay for, and from $100 to $180 for students with J1 visas, which are visas sponsored by the government of the student’s home country.
