The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) released their annual SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) by the Numbers report that shows the number of foreign students enrolled in U.S. has risen by eight percent since 2014. According to the web-based system SEVIS there are 1.2 million international students using the F-1 (academic) or M-1 (vocational) visas in the U.S.
M-1 visas are given to foreign students to attend a specific vocational (non-academic) school or program for a short amount of time. The visa does allow the student to work through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program but is limited too one month of work for every four months of study.
F-1 visas allow foreign students to attend elementary, middle, high school, or college/university in the United States. International undergraduate or graduate students on an F-1 visa are allowed to participate in the OPT program as well for up to 12 months.
In 2008 the OPT program was extended to 17 months for students who graduated with degrees in the STEM field. According to the SEVIS report thirty-nine percent or 460,000 of the foreign students are enrolled in STEM courses as of November 2015. This extension is set to expire in February though DHS is working on a new rule that would extend the program to 35 months.
The OPT expansion allowed many companies to circumvent the caps on guest worker visas such as the H-1B visa and replace American workers with cheaper foreign student workers. The OPT graduates are exempt from payroll taxes and there is no wage requirements or visa caps on the program.
Read more on this story at ICE.gov.
Originally Published: Tue, Dec 22nd 2015 @ 12:43pm EST
30 Comments
Are there any limits on F 1 or M1 visas? so there is no limit on the numbers who can work under the OPT? so the more students we allow in; the more who can work. (college and grad school)
and there is no mention of the OPT lawsuit in this story.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
Once the Immigration Rats Get in the House
They're almost impossible to get rid of.
No limits, but remember the OPT program is dead unless the judge gives the Administration a delay in the case
You did say the entire program right? unless the judge says otherwise? and they were in court last week werent they? So they cant issue any more and the ones on it; just get to finish out?
What about the new EAD posted later on in this thread?
Thanks Van.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
Yes, the entire program and they can't issue any more. No, they don't get to finish out the term. They'd have to leave the country
Did you see our last post on the bottom? They filed an appeal last week. CIS doesnt give it a good shot though but who knows.
Thanks for confirming.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
Yes, working through a number of things after just returning from vacation. Thanks so much
No problem. Its riduclous how they support everyone else and wont support US workers.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
Hope your vacation gave you renewed energy and focus. Glad to read your comments.
Thanks so much.
We have to get rid of all visa programs, all permanent residence, all foreign nationals, period...This country belongs to Americans! And, it certainly does not belong to obama and his administration!
Temporary workers, tourist and other at one time legal foreigners eventually become nearly 1/2 of the illegal population.
Academia is solidly in support of more visas, and it's easy to see why: 1.2 million international students. And each one is paying full tuition, usually 2 or 3 times the fee that instate students pay.
and they can take a job at a University where they are allowed unlimited number of visas especially if they are masters or higher.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
Some how many of the foreign graduate students get aid or reduced tuition. The foreign student problem (from an American worker perspective) needs to be dealt with by shrinking the size of US universities or filling available slots with Americans. Most of those foreign students are not in the top handful of universities. From this I conclude that most are not drawn by superior US education but the possibility of eventually (automatically if the Chamber of Commerce and the universities have their way) of getting Green cards.
I wonder how much of the tuition paid by foreign students actually comes out of aid received from the good old U.S.A?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/University-of-Manavallu-In-Sili...
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/usbound-students-not-all...
Students on F-1 visas are allowed to compete with American students for all campus jobs. Working on campus is construed as part of their education. Many off-campus jobs are interpreted in the same way. It is also worth remembering that many of those 1.2 million students are married grad students and they generally have children while in the U.S., who are automatic U.S. citizens. Like everything with immigration, these would not be major concerns except that the numbers are very large.
Numbers can you clarify please?
OMB Approved I-140 EAD/Portability Proposed Rule on 12/22/2015
Stay tuned to this website for the text of the proposed rule. On behalf of the I-140 employers and foreign workers, we wish to send our thumbs up to the leaders of the USCIS for handling the rule-making process timely, despite the threat by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Chuck Grassley, against this rule-making process of the USCIS.
Stakeholders of this rule are encouraged to send in positive comments once this proposed rule is published in the federal register with a period of comments. This involves a rule-making process and not related to Congress. Stakeholders should stay away from unnecessary contacts with the legislators on this rule-making process, stirring unnecessary political controversies in the national election year. Stakeholders on the part of the federal government are the White House and the DHS/USCIS.
source: http://www.immigration-law.com/
http://www.reginfo.gov/public/Forward?SearchTarget=RegReview&textfield=+...
Numbers,
This will give H1B holders a free hand to replace American workers. Need to counter this.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
It appears about 150000 foreign workers will be benefited from EADs issued through this new rule. This is senator Grassley's letter to DHS asking for details about this new rule being proposed. I don't think DHS responded to this letter.
http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/leaked-memos-detail-pl...
Rule seems to be pending publication in the federal register:
https://www.murthy.com/2015/12/23/newsflash-proposed-i-140-ead-rule-clea...
When the rule gets published in the federal register seeking comments, we should write about the negative impact this rule has on US workers asking USCIS/DHS to abandon this rule altogether.
These are H1b's already in the country processing green cards. Because of restriction in visa numbers per year, they are not able to get green cards. They met with Mr. Obama end of last year to come up with ways to circumvent/relax rules to obtain benefits like H4 EADs, EADs before visa numbers being assigned etc. The rule currently being implemented is EAD before visa numbers are assigned. Normally, they would be waiting in the line many more years before EADs could be issued, but now the proposal gives EADs preemptively before security checks, background verification etc.
This is the rule proposal we reported here that front loads work permits and allows guest workers to move to another job. OMB approved the proposal for publication but it has not been released yet. However, as noted in the link and another article, the release of a different benefit form (I-765) reveals some background on the proposal. To qualify the applicant must be within a year of eligibility for changing their status to a permanent resident alien. Also an applicant must maintain an E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1 or L-1 status, have an approved I-140 immigrant form and face undefined “compelling circumstances” while awaiting an immigrant visa to become available. This leaves a lot of open questions about portability and other issues which presumably will be answered when the rule is proposed. Yes, we'll definitely want to engage on this proposal.
But it adds more foreign workers to the country? changes the visas on existing foreign workers? circumvents the numbers allowed in per year?
Thanks for clarifying Van.
NO amnesty NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
It would allow some to get a work permit before their time so, yes, it adds more foreign workers. It would only effect those who are already here so it would not allow more to come in. I-140 is employer-based sponsorship for becoming a legal permanent resident. That means a change of status, but in this case the change was already approved. This could affect illegal aliens as well because the I-140 form does not require proof of legal status. So you could have a visa-overstaying H-1B worker with an approved I-140 form who would qualify unless the proposed rule changes the legal status aspect
http://cis.org/miano/dhs-files-last-ditch-motion-preserve-improper-opt-r...
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.
Comment period for the rule begins now ( Offers EADs, Job flexibility for H1B visa holders during their immigration process etc):
[ Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting Highly-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers (Docket ID: USCIS-2015-0008) ]
Comment page: http://www.regulations.gov/#!searchResults;rpp=25;po=0;s=USCIS-2015-0008...
( Complete rule details here: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-12-31/html/2015-32666.htm )
See the featured story. We already posted the link.
NO amnesty. NO work permits NO nothing but deportation.
Thanks!
No problem and dont forget to read the other stories near it as they also provide other insights / goodies.
NO amnesty. NO work permits. NO nothing but deportation.