I strongly SUPPORT this proposal for the following reasons.
1. The reason that most STEM students chose the US to pursue a higher degree is because of the OPT policy allowing students to learn practical skills after their graduation. In most STEM majors, students solely learn theoretical knowledge in school and theoretical knowledge cannot help you go far in handling real world job. It is essential for STEM students to gain experience through internships and practice jobs. Not a lot of countries other than the US provide a friendly policy about internship after graduation. A lot of my friends claimed that this is a major reason why they chose to continue their graduate study in the US. Had they known that the STEM OPT extension would be on the verge of cancellation, they would seriously reconsider their options and maybe chose to continue their study in other countries like Canada, Australia or the UK.
For example, Canada modified its Post-Graduation Work Permit Program to allow international students who have graduated from a recognized Canadian post-secondary institution to stay and gain valuable post-graduate work experience for a period equal to the length of the student's study program, up to a maximum of three years, with no restrictions on type of employment. Without the STEM OPT extension, US higher education will lose its attraction to international students, at least compared with the northern neighbor Canada.
Thus, the STEM OPT extension is crucial to ensure that the US academic institutions can appeal to young bright students and researchers all around the world to continue their study and research in the US.
2. As I mentioned above, the STEM OPT extension is contributed to why US institutions are currently attracting students around the world to continue their higher education in the US. This conclusion is not only based on personal experience and hearsay, but also validated by statistics. The DHS published the original STEM OPT extension rule in 2008. Ever since then, the number of international students in the US are booming. According to the Institute of International Education, the international student population have increased by 31% over the five year span (2008 – 2013). In Massachusetts, a state that is famous for its prestigious higher education institutions, that number was 47%. Most international students either benefit from scholarships funded by their home countries or paid full tuition from their personal fund. In an article published by Boston Business Journal, Parke Muth, an admissions consultant based in Virginia said “By the large, international students are footing the bill while the vast majority of other students aren’t paying full price.”. Χ
（bizjournals com/boston/print-edition/2014/03/07/bostons-foreign-student-boom.html）
This is just a small example of how international student population growth contributed to US higher education. Foreign students also contribute to local economy during their study and their practice training. The average effective rent of the greater Boston has increased for six straight years from $1600 in 2009 to $1857 in 2014. The increasing number of international students, especially over 20,000 graduate students were almost all renting apartments and homes off-campus. International students are bringing money from their home country to get education, and strengthening local economy at the same time. （northeastern edu/dukakiscenter/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Housing_Report_2014-15.pdf）
3. Most negative comments about this proposal claimed that the STEM OPT extension will take away jobs from US citizens. This is simply not the case. Anyone who has read this proposal and understand the meaning of OPT would agree that the STEM OPT extension does not affect the opportunities for US citizens to find jobs at all. First of all, the OPT policy does not provide sponsorship for any permanent job positions for international students. Students can only use the OPT period to work temporarily and earn experience. Companies want to hire international students for permanent jobs would have to sponsor working visas for the students, such visas are regulated by other immigration laws and NOT this PROPOSAL. Second of all, for most companies, STEM internship positions cannot substitute the function of permanent job positions. The internship positions usually pay less than permanent job positions, does not provide good benefits compared with permanent job positions and require full time working commitment without guaranteeing a long-term stable career. These characteristics of most STEM internship positions make the internships less appealing to US citizens in the first place. Lastly, the fact is that most international students do go back to their home country to work after they finish their OPT. For Chinese, South Korean, and Indian students (who make up half of all international students), economies back home are booming. And American-educated students in developing countries are in high demand. (newrepublic com/article/120463/immigration-law-discourages-international-students-working) Neither the intention nor the consequences of the OPT and the STEM OPT extension are taking jobs away from the Americans.
4. The STEM OPT extension was introduced during the Bush administration and supported by the Obama administration. It benefits the foreign students as well as American citizens. Anyone with a vision of the future of the US would support this proposal, and I would like to end my comment with a quote from one particular individual with such vision. “Comprehensive immigration reform would revise our system so that the best and the brightest from around the world to come here. The ones who are studying here aren’t forced to leave.” ---- President Barack Obama. (youtube com/watch?v=5IljiPJQgSU)
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