New US visa rules increase OPT period to three years

After all the negativity associated with US education in the recent months, here is some good news for Indian students. The US government has made certain changes to non-immigrant visas that will now allow the eligible students to obtain the Optional Practical Training (OPT) for three years.

However, the facility will be extended only to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students who secure their degrees from accredited institutes and the companies that are part of the E-verify programme. Since most Indian students enrol in these courses, the new norms may work to their advantage despite the stringent norms attached to the changes. The new norms come into effect from May 10, 2016. The new rule also says that STEM-OPT students should not replace any American worker, temporary or permanent and the salary offered to the OPT students should be similar to the American workers. “This norm may actually dissuade companies from extending OPTs to Indian or international students,” feels Narsi Reddy Gayam, a GRE trainer from Promac in Hyderabad.

However, Ganesh Valmiki from Valmiki Group says that serious students can take lot of advantage with the extended period. Students who prefer good institutes in the US will gain while those from non-accredited institutions will not gain from the new rules. Another positive note may be that OPT students will get more time to apply for the H1B visas that are capped at 65,000 every year in addition to the 20,000 meant for US-educated students.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/new-us-visa-rules-increase-opt-period-to-three-years/article8347881.ece