Representative image (Carolyn Kaster-Pool/Getty Images)Indians students who hail from STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields dominated the game while participating in the optical practical training (OPT) programme, which allows them to work in the US once they obtain their degrees, Times Of India has reported.
Indian students (56 per cent) outplayed the Chinese students (24 per cent) in the total STEM-OPT authorisations in fiscal 2017. Apart from these two nations, only about 500 Canadian and 400 Mexican students participated in the OPT.
International students are eligible only for a 12 month OPT in the US. However, students with STEM degrees have a 24 month OPT extension.
There has been an increased focus on STEM-OPT placements by the Trump Administration. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the immigration agency is unhappy with arrangements that provide ‘labour for hire’ and those where a bona fide employer-employee relationship cannot be demonstrated.
Reports claim that the release of such data is aimed at transparency about international students in the US.
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