Things to Know About Optional Practical Training (OPT) for Students

Every year, more than 1 million students from all over the world attend schools and universities in the United States to further their education. Optional Practical Training (OPT) permits graduates to get vital hands-on experience while also allowing them to directly contribute their degree and training to the United States. Most overseas grads would have little choice but to depart the United States and lend their abilities to our global competitors if OPT were not available. It is vital to preserving the option of OPT for international graduates in order to attract, educate, and retain promising people from all over the world.

1. Faced with limited immigration options

If international graduates want to live and work permanently in the United States, obtaining a green card is quite difficult. The F-1 student visa does not allow for dual intent, which means that individuals who want to study in the United States but also want to live here permanently must apply for a separate visa when they finish their studies.

Graduates may hunt for an employer to sponsor them for a green card or a temporary skilled work visa like an H-1B when their F-1 status expires. Even when businesses are ready to sponsor someone for a green card right out of college, backlogs make it impossible, thus the H-1B temporary work visa is frequently the only choice.

The low annual supply of H-1Bs, however, is continually outstripped by demand, giving applicants a one-in-three chance of getting their applications to read. Even if they get the H-1B, those grads will still have to wait in line for a green card and eventually citizenship, which might take a decade or more.

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a vital but flawed bridge that allows graduates to develop their abilities and establish relationships with possible employers while deciding on their future immigration possibilities. It may not provide a clear road to permanent residency in and of itself, but it can provide them with the time and expertise they need to manage the restricted possibilities available.

2. OPT allows international graduates of American universities to live and work in the United States.

OPT allows international students who are enrolled in or have graduated from a U.S. university or college to keep their F-1 student status while working for a U.S. company in their field of study. Students in any profession can earn up to 12 months of post-completion OPT, while those with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) can get a two-year STEM extension, totaling 36 months.

Graduates use their degree in a real-world situation with OPT, getting vital work experience and honing their talents in the United States. As fresh graduates improve their talents and begin to define their future paths, this work experience is crucial.

Approximately 180,000 OPT initial and renewal work authorization applications were issued in FY 2020. Around 130,000 of these were for post-completion OPT and a little over 50,000 for the STEM extension. The majority of OPT participants have bachelor's or master's degrees in technology, engineering, or business, with more than half having a master's degree.

3. When overseas graduates stay and work in the United States, it benefits Americans

Everyone gains when international students are permitted to work and contribute. International students sustain about 455,000 employees in the United States and contribute $37 billion to the economy each year. Experts have discovered that a large number of OPT participants in a given region is linked to higher salaries and lower unemployment for specific American employees. The Business Roundtable, on the other hand, estimates that ending OPT will lose 443,000 jobs over a decade, including 255,000 positions for native-born employees, as well as lower hourly salaries and GDP.

At a time when countries like Canada, Australia, China, and India (all of which offer their own post-graduate work programs are competing for highly-skilled international students, the potential for hands-on training and a path to future employment is critical in attracting and retaining that talent. OPT also allows employers in the United States to assess fresh graduates as potential employees and contributors. Many OPT companies end up endorsing graduates for visas, according to DHS.

Maintaining talent's ability to live and work in the United States is especially critical in STEM industries, where firms compete globally for the finest talent and face a constant lack of qualified accessible labor. Because of a shortage of competent people, the manufacturing industry alone is expected to have approximately 2 million unfilled jobs in the next 10 years. Universities and educational institutions, healthcare providers such as hospitals, manufacturing, banking, and financial enterprises, and technology firms are among the industries having the highest percentage of OPT workers.

4. Attacks on OPT are misguided and harmful

Despite the fact that OPT is critical for the training and retention of international students, opponents of legal immigration continue to challenge the program. During the previous administration, a small group of lawmakers proposed legislation to end OPT completely, and rumors circulated that the previous administration was considering major restrictions on OPT and the STEM extension, but strong opposition from the business community and Republican leaders in government appeared to derail the effort.

Although the judge found in favor of keeping OPT, the plaintiffs have challenged the ruling once more. Despite the fact that the plaintiffs have been fighting this case for over a decade and that the courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of OPT, restrictions continue to challenge, seeking to end the entire program, which would be devastating for hundreds of thousands of people seeking to study and work in the United States, as well as our economy.

More than 60 additional employers, trade associations, and business organizations in the United States joined FWD.us in writing an amicus brief in support of OPT in the case. Our statement may be seen here, and more information about the brief and signers can be found here.

5. OPT is just one part of a complicated immigration system

OPT is critical to the development of our future high-skilled workforce, and its importance is amplified by the immigration system's overall flaws. The most significant impediment to overseas graduates being retained. Due to the low annual visa numbers, firms are unable to match tens of thousands of talented individuals to unfilled positions. While OPT can assist skilled graduates in finding work in the near term, they must obtain one of these coveted visas in order to remain in the country. Those that don't are obliged to use their abilities in other places.

Conclusion

While OPT should remain an option for graduates who want to return to the United States after completing their studies, the United States should also create a post-graduate work visa that allows students to begin the green card process and begin working and contributing immediately after graduation. The United States should expand the number of high-skilled H-1B visas as well as the number of green cards available each year, particularly for employment-based immigration. Green card backlogs must be addressed, and per-country caps must be eliminated.