USCIS recently made a change that benefits the Indian students in the US. The change was a reversal of a previous rule about STEM students. STEM represents Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Students from these streams are called STEM students.
Earlier this year, the USCIS website prohibited the OPT STEM students to directly deal with customers, but now the reversal that has been made allows STEM students on OPT will involve direct customer dealing.
I’m writing this article on behalf of UnitedOPT, the largest OPT students recruitment service in the USA. Here I’ll give you a detailed understanding of OPT, STEM OPT rule, and changes that have been made by USCIS.
What is OPT meaning?
It stands for Optional Practical Training. It is normally a paid training done by international students with F-1 Visa in the USA. You can only get the training in the industry of your specialization field of study. For STEM students, it is known as STEM OPT. In the event that students select OPT before their graduation program finishes, it is called Pre-completion OPT. In the event that OPT is done after the completion of the program, it is called Post-completion OTP. International students in the USA can apply for a year of OPT, with students from STEM courses in the USA can apply for a further two year STEM OPT extension.
STEM-OPT rule and the changes:
In Early 2018, the official site of USCIS expressed that international students from STEM streams can’t observe their OPT on client worksites. In simple terms, students from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics can’t be picked for OPT by employers to work where there are direct customer dealings. The students can’t be employed where they will manage the clients. Due to this, businesses can offer opportunities to these students on their worksites. Because of this rule in implementation, the OPT job opportunities for STEM students drastically decreased. Because not every organization will necessarily have a work environment not directly related to customer dealings. This risks the career prospects of Indian students in the US since the STEM stream has a large number of students pursuing the STEM program.
Amendment and Changes:
As of late, USCIS had taken out the rule from the implementation. This implies that the business can again employ STEM students for OPT, regardless of whether the training position is on the client worksite. This bears great news for thousands of Indian students in the USA, and another thousand hoping to Study in the USA. And the responsibility to land OPT jobs for every one of them is Ours if you come to us at UnitedOPT. These changes that have been made are can be more beneficial than you think with our little career advice.
Other Important Rules about OTP:
As indicated by USCIS, the employer and employee must meet the STEM-OPT training requirement that is predefined. A portion of the Requirements are:
· The company must convey out a preparing plan according to form I-983.
· The Company must have adequate assets and Training Personnel to do the preparation.
· A written training program document
· A bonafide Employee-Employer Relationship (student should not be an employee ‘in name only’ and should not work on ‘volunteer basis’)
· The student should not replace a full time or part-time, permanent or temporary US worker
In the conclusion, I would only suggest that international students in the US get the maximum benefit from this opportunity and come to UnitedOPT to shine upon your future.