On May 12, 2011, USICE published an expanded list of STEM degree programs that qualify eligible graduates on student visas for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension. By expanding the list of STEM degrees to include such fields as Neuroscience, Medical Informatics, Pharmaceutics, and Drug Design, Mathematics and Computer Science, the Obama administration is helping to address shortages in certain high-tech sectors of talented scientists and technology experts – permitting highly skilled foreign graduates who wish to work in their field of study upon graduation and extend their post-graduate training in the United States.
Under the current OPT program, foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities are able to remain in the United States and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students who graduate with one of the newly-expanded STEM degrees can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT-STEM extension.
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