OPT延长至24个月政策急需你的支持评论 否则很可能失败！！！

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I support the reform to extend the Optional Practical Training program for STEM F-1 students from U.S. institutions of higher educations to 24 months. I believe the benefits to American society created from this reform would outweigh the costs. I’ve spend some time reading through the comments and here are my views on some of the concerns mentioned by other fellow Americans who felt cheated by the OPT extension.

First of all, given that the OPT extension only applies to STEM students, I doubt that a significant numbers of American workers is being replaced by those students. As a starting point, all the foreign students eligible for STEM extension need to have a STEM bachelor or higher degree from accredited American universities. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with Bachelor’s degree and higher is 2.5% in October 2015 and it has actually decreased from 3.0% in 2014. As an economics major, I would say the 2.5% college graduate unemployment rate entails a sufficient robust labor market for fellow Americans to find work.

Secondly, I want to point out that OPT extension is not a pathway to immigration. I’ve known quite a few international students from college and they pointed out that the actual bridge to green card (and subsequently immigration) is the H1B visa. I’ve also learned that there is a cap on the number of H1B visa allocated annually. In my opinion, the reform to extend the OPT period would not result in more H1B workers since the annual allocation of H1B hasn’t been changed. Therefore, the reform will not factually result in more immigration since the H1B work visa “gate” is still properly guarded by the our representatives in the Congress and Senate.

Thirdly, I’ve seen a lot of comments on protections of Americans’ jobs and I believe Section G “Safeguarding U.S. Workers Through Measures Consistent With Labor Market Protections” of Article V “Discussion of Elements of the STEM OPT Extension” will promptly address this issue. I applaud the government officials for putting efforts to protect American jobs and I believe the measures would be adequate, if promptly implemented.

Fourthly, I believe OPT STEM extension program offers significant benefit to STEM students and helps US higher education institutions attracts foreign students. I’ve known a few international students who plan to go to physics graduate school programs and they are currently on their STEM OPT program to develop real world research experiences. They all appreciate the STEM OPT opportunity and I’ve learned that some of them actual pay taxes from their income.

Finally, if the STEM OPT reform didn’t pass through and the STEM extension is completely revoked, I would recommend the Department of Homeland Security to grandfather in all the current foreign students who are on STEM OPT. In Table 1, the estimated affected population who can extend their STEM OPT is 18,210 students. I firmly believe ending their STEM extension early would result in unnecessary disruptions in their academic pursuits and the research projects they are currently working in.

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international students给美国的产业和经济带来双重贡献

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As a potential student in the U.S., I strongly agree with the proposal of the OPT extension for STEM students. The OPT extension for STEM students will largely elevate the competition of the U.S. companies because it can dramatically attract diversified elites to the U.S. especially when many newly-industrialized countries, like China and India, succeed in the rapid development and the number of excellent employees.


Some critics claims that all F-1 and H1-B visas over the course of 2 years should be revoked because of the jobs Depression.  However, just as one of the critics said, "Businesses are actually very clever at problem-solving.", companies have trouble finding enough employees to fill in the jobs of engineering. So the foreign nationals ,mainly from China and India, may fill in the job vacancies because native Americans are usually inclined on the jobs of news, laws, etc., which are unrelated to engineering. And that is why STEM students can obtain 17-month OPT extension at first. It seems that the foreigners make the jobs for natives much more scarce. But there is an inconspicuous fact that these foreigners also create jobs, which can outnumber jobs they occupy, because they mostly come from the middle- or upper-class families in their motherlands and they've paid tens of thousands of dollars for international students' tuition for universities or colleges.  So it is easy for them to create jobs and elevate the local economy, like more salesmen and saleswomen in supermarkets can be hired due to the growing population.

In addition, if the OPT extensions are cancelled, large companies will offshore some core job positions to other countries. When someone's OPT expires, his or her companies may send the employee to the branches out of the U.S., mostly to his or her motherland. Because of this, the expense of the flights between the U.S. and other countries will increase significantly and the branches have to adapt to the circumstances and comply with the laws different from the U.S.. Also these employees can be easily appealed by higher salaries from the local companies, which will speed up the loss of the core employees and the rapidly development of these local companies.  It is predictable that without OPT extension, the advantages of companies in China and India will overshadow the U.S. companies years later.

So, to let the U.S. companies maintain competitive, it is vital to extend the duration of OPT. It is of no benefits for U.S. top companies to hire excellent employees without OPT extension.

United States is built upon technologies. How could an American search on Google, share thoughts on Facebook, shop on Amazon, or use the high-tech Apple products? It is because so many international technologists build these companies up.

How could so many American financial companies make so much money on Wall Street? How could an  American enjoy so many financial services? One main reason is so many international mathematicians and quants build up a lot of cutting-edge financial models and provide system support for the banking system.

International students, especially STEM students, has made a great contribution to the American economy. They also paid a great amount of tuition for US universities. Without these students, US education system would suffer a much tighter financial budget. Should this happen, it would be hard for US to have such advanced education system, and continue to be the lead in technology and science in the world any more.  

In history, American is a land for immigrants, and is built up by immigrants. Anyone who can contribute should be able to live on this continent.

I support the extension of OPT.
. check 1point3acres for more.
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First of all, I support for the rule - giving STEM student 24 month of OPT extension.

Recently, I noticed a website http://www.stopoverreach.com/, which appeals American citizen to vote against the new rule and establish a bad image and prejudice on international student. This standpoint of this website is " international STEM students are cheap labors, which jeopardises citizen employment rate". (Attached picture - Stopoverreach)

There is no evidence showing STEM international student labors are cheap.

I was a student majored in Information Technology and Management in the University of Texas at Dallas. During past 3 years, there were more than 80% student in our program are international students. (Attached picture - STEM Student Profile - ITM)

During academic years of 2012-2015, the average hourly salary of our internships are $20.36. Is this rate cheap in Texas? (Attached official statistical data - "ms_itm_internship_2012_13", "ms_itm_internship_2013_14" and "ms_itm_internship_2013_14")

Above data also list the employers of our students. Most of them are well-known companies, such as AT&T, Ericsson, UPS, IBM, Dell, etc. All information can be find on the Link. http://jindal.utdallas.edu/isom/information-systems-programs/ms-information-technology/#05-student-profiles-amp-statistics

There might be some STEM students hired by low rate, but when discussing about a new immigration rule, it's make more sense to consider the average rate in the big picture.