In a win for noncitizen students at U.S. colleges and universities, as well as the U.S. economy in the wake of a massive labor shortage, the DHS just announced plans to add 22 fields to the STEM degree program list, allowing some foreign students to pursue practical training in the U.S. for a total of 3 years, which includes the initial 12 months plus a potential 24-month extension — after completing their degrees.
The notice could impact F-1 nonimmigrant students and those with OPT work permits.
The fields to be added include:
- Bioenergy
- Forestry
- Forest Resources Production and Management
- Human-Centered Technology Design
- Cloud Computing
- Anthrozoology
- Climate Science
- Earth Systems Science
- Economics and Computer Science
- Environmental Geosciences
- Geobiology
- Geography and Environmental Studies
- Mathematical Economics
- Mathematics and Atmospheric/Oceanic Science
- Data Science
- Data Analytics
- Business Analytics
- Data Visualization
- Financial Analytics
- Data Analytics
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Social Sciences
The expansion shows the Biden administration recognizes the value foreign students bring to the U.S. and to the workforce after graduation via OPT and is a significant first step toward broadening requirements for H-1B’s. Expanding OPT shores up the pipeline of people who can work on H-1Bs in sectors where the U.S. needs the most help.