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F-1 Students: Tell DHS to Fix the 2008 OPT STEM Extension Rule! Sample
Letter Here!
By ImmigrationGirl September 29, 2015 F-1 Students, Legislation 42
Comments
As mentioned during my Teleconference on the impact of Washington Alliance
of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, I want to
provide affected students with actions they can take to urge the Department
of Homeland Security to re-issue the 2008 rule by February 2016. Many of you
have already sent emails to the Department of Homeland Security Academic
Advisory Council (HSAAC) as well as the Homeland Security Science and
Technology Advisory Committee as I urged you to do in the last few weeks.
As we are getting close to October, I think it is time to step up and make
your voice heard even louder! At this time, I urge you to mail a letter to
USICE, the agency that oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Program for
F-1 students.
I have drafted a sample letter for you below if you will be impacted by the
cancellation of the 2008 OPT STEM extension rule. Feel free to cut and
paste the below sample, but be sure to personalize your letter so that it
has more impact! Mail it out to Director Louis Farrell TODAY!!!
Louis Farrell, Director
Student and Exchange Visitor Program
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security
Chester Arthur Building
425 I Street, NW., Suite 6034 Washington, DC 20536
Re: Impact of Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department
of Homeland Security on 17-month STEM Extensions
Dear Director Farrell,
I seek your assistance in recommending to the Secretary of Homeland Security
and senior leadership to immediately begin the regulatory process to extend
the period of Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) for F-1 Nonimmigrant
Students with STEM degrees.
As an international student in the United States, I pursued a STEM degree
and graduated in 2015 with a master’s degree in the field of computer
science. [it is helpful if you can include additional information about
important work that you are doing during your OPT that will benefit your
field]. The recent decision in Washington Alliance of Technology
Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security has eliminated the STEM OPT
extension. Without the availability of a STEM extension, unless my employer
is able to obtain an H-1B visa when the filing period commences on April 1,
2016, I will need to leave the United States when my OPT period concludes.
In April 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued an
interim final rule with request for comments that extended the period of OPT
by 17 months for F-1 nonimmigrants with a qualifying STEM degree. On August
12, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
vacated the 17-month STEM extension created by the 2008 Rule, but ordered
that the vacatur be stayed until February 12, 2016. If DHS does not issue a
final rule to replace the 2008 Rule, thousands of foreign students with work
authorizations, such as myself, will be forced to scramble to depart the
United States. This will impose a costly burden on the U.S. tech sector if
thousands of young workers have to leave their jobs on February 12, 2016.
Foreign students represent half of all U.S. graduate enrollments in
engineering, math, and computer science. There still are not enough U.S.
students graduating with advanced degrees in these fields to fill highly
specialized positions. A 2012 report co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce found that every foreign-born student who graduates with an
advanced degree from a U.S. university and stays to work in a STEM field
creates on average 2.62 jobs for U.S. workers, often because they help lead
in innovation, research and development. Without the availability of the OPT
STEM extension, the H-1B visa program is the main avenue for foreign-born
individuals with U.S. degrees to stay in the U.S. to work in the STEM field.
Yet, the H-1B visa program only sets aside 20,000 visa numbers for
individuals who have earned a Master’s degree, or above, at a U.S.
university. This has led to an immigration policy which selects the best and
brightest by random lottery, not by merit.
Many opponents of expanding the period of OPT seek to pit native-born
workers against their foreign-born colleagues. But, in fact, workers do not
compete against each other for a fixed number of jobs. The United States has
created a dynamic and powerful economy, and immigrants of all types and
skills, from every corner of the globe, have worked with native-born workers
to build it. Skilled immigrants’ contributions to the U.S. economy help
create new jobs and new opportunities for economic expansion. Indeed,
foreign-born students who graduate with an advanced degree in STEM fields
from U.S. universities positively impact the U.S. economy and employment
opportunities of native-born workers.
The most dramatic gains in U.S. employment come from immigrants who earned
advanced degrees at US universities and are employed in STEM fields.
Changing temporary immigration policies, such as by expanding the OPT period
to 17 months, to favor holders of advanced degrees from U.S. universities
in STEM fields is an obvious step given the demand for highly skilled
workers and the extensive investment the country already makes in such
students. Without a clear path to stay in the United States, these foreign
students will fuel innovation and economic growth in countries that compete
with the American economy.
With this letter, I urge you to support the U.S. economy by extending the
period of OPT by 17 months for F-1 nonimmigrant students with STEM degrees
through a new rule submitted for proper notice and comment by February 12,
2016.
Thank you for your consideration, time, and support in this matter.
Sincerely,
XXXX
~ImmigrationGirl
Related Posts:
Possible OPT Extension Plan in the Works?
OPT STEM Extension Expansion, Possible Proposal in August?
UPDATED 9/10/15! STEM OPT Progress Likely in October
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