OPT is a 12-month, temporary employment programthat foreign college students can participate in either pre- or post-graduation. There is a 24-month extension for foreign students who completed a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) degree that brings the visa duration to 3 years. Additionally, if an OPT participant is waiting on a decision to be made on an H-1B visa, they can stay for another 6 months. This brings the total OPT work period to a maximum of 42 months before the new Biden rule is implemented. When that comes into effect, the maximum extension will be 54 months.
The top companies who hire OPT students are tech and consulting companies. However, these jobs are not measly internships. Most are highly sought after jobs that Americans want. How many foreign STEM graduates do you think take jobs that American college graduates won’t do? The answer is zero, and if you think that the vast majority of these workers will leave the country after their OPT has expired, you are mistaken. Biden’s rule gives them another year, and many will just overstay their visas anyways. In fact, there are nearly as many visa overstays in the US as there are illegal border crossings.
Biden’s new Ministry of Truth would assure you that OPT is a compassionate way to attract the best and the brightest students from foreign countries as a temporary way of culturally enriching our workforce and investing sorely needed human capital into our STEM jobs. This narrative is the dismissive equivalent of the old, “they are taking jobs that no Americans will do! Shut up and like it!” The reality is that companies employ OPT workers over similarly qualified American workers because they are subsidized to do so by our government and no labor standards exist for OPT.