With little fanfare, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has extended the amount of time foreign students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can stay in the United States without a work visa after graduation. The rule was changed in response to the overwhelming demand for skilled-worker visas.
Under the new rule, students will be able to stay in America for “Optional Practical Training” for 29 months after graduation, up from 12 months, without a work visa. In its official rule change [PDF], the department declared the shortage of H-1B visas an “emergency” that justified making the rule change without notice or comment.
This year and last, the cap for H-1B visas — given to skilled workers — was reached almost immediately after the application window opened at the beginning of April. Because H-1B applicants must have a college diploma in hand to apply, students who graduate after April 1 this year were shut out of the process.
High-tech companies, which complain that the United States is not doing a good enough job training home-grown talent in science and math, have been lobbying Congress to increase the visa cap.—Catherine Rampell
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