Questions were raised after Vivek Nemana, a sociology student at Princeton, put out a series of tweets that started with, “Trump will cancel the OPT extension. This means that for hundreds of thousands of Indian techies, studying in the US no longer makes sense”.
Indian students studying in the United States are concerned about their future, after a tweet suggested that US President Donald Trump’s administration would cancel the Optional Practical Training Extension for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Students (STEM OPT). However, a post shared by the US Department of Home Security said that while STEM will not be discontinued, it will be granted only if a designated school official (DSO) can recommend the extension of the student’s visa. Student visa extension begins after the students start their OPT or their job for a STEM employer. STEM students undertake the OPT once for a degree. A student can undergo OPT after completing a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate degree.
Questions were raised after Vivek Nemana, a sociology student at Princeton, put out a series of tweets that started with, “Trump will cancel the OPT extension. This means that for hundreds of thousands of Indian techies, studying in the US no longer makes sense”.
Nemana also shared the source of the information — an article on US website Vox, which spoke on several rulings passed by the Trump administration, including a ban on Syrians entering the United States, as well as a draft that “protects American jobs and workers by strengthening the integrity of foreign worker visa programmes”. Nowhere did it mention that the OPT extension would be cancelled.
However, international students studying in the United States have anticipated changes in the visa programmes, at least Indian students have. According to a post shared by Rhode Island Public Radio, the number of international students earning degrees in the STEM fields is soaring. A 2014 National Science Foundation report stated, “The group grew by 35 per cent. At the same time, the number of US citizens in the field fell 5 per cent,” the report said.
While President Trump had earlier in an interview with Fox News said that Indians studying in American educational institutions should not be kicked out as the country needs “smart people like them”, he has recently been more vocal on the need to “follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American”.
President Trump had also said that while he does have an issue with illegal immigrants, the rule doesn’t apply to those who come to the US legally. “I’m in favour of people coming into this country legally. And you know what? They can have it any way they want. You can call it visas, you can call it work permits, and you can call it anything you want. … As far as the visas are concerned, if we need people, it’s fine. They have to come into this country legally. We have a country of borders. We have a country of laws. We have to obey the laws. It’s fine if they come in, but they have to come in legally,” he said.
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