As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
For America’s STEM visa program, however, the end may come sooner rather than later.
By way of background, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, an integral part of the F-1 student visa program administered by the US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS). It encompasses a vast array of bachelor-level and post-baccalaureate academic fields of study ranging from Agriculture to Veterinary Sciences to Biomechanics to Undersea Warfare, just to name a few, in addition to the more popularly known courses related to science, math, and engineering. Currently, the most up-to-date STEM list includes more than 500 academic degrees.
What is the benefit of enrolling in a STEM course as compared to a non-STEM program?
The main difference lies in their Optional Practical Training (OPT) components.
For example, an F-1 student who is about to graduate, or has already graduated, from a non-STEM course is qualified to apply for a 12-month OPT, which will allow the student to obtain employment authorization and work full-time for a US company in a job related to the student’s degree.
Think of an accounting graduate working in a taxation firm or even in a non-financial entity as long as the job duties have a reasonable nexus to the course of study, e.g., bookkeeper working in a retail store company.
However, once the 12-month OPT expires, the student’s F-1 status also ends (except for a 60-day grace period to wind up one’s affairs).
On the other hand, a STEM graduate is eligible for a 24-month OPT extension in addition to the original 12-month OPT period, which, according to some experts, drastically maximizes a foreign student’s return on investment as far as educational expenses recoupment is concerned.
Additionally, a further 24-month extension is available in certain instances, e.g., if a higher STEM course is pursued after the initial 24-month OPT extension.
Not surprisingly, the opportunity to work full-time for three years or five years, as the case may be, in high-paying American jobs has become increasingly irresistible to foreign students, resulting in a dramatic jump (21 percent) in the total number of OPT workers (almost 295,000 out of the roughly 1.2 million F-1 visa holders for the 2024-25 academic school year, about half of whom are from India). This, despite a 7-percent drop in new international student enrollment during the same period.
To address the controversy, which the Trump administration blames on widespread OPT misuse and lackadaisical supervision of the STEM program, the USDHS is reportedly planning to amend the OPT regulations to eliminate fraud in the system and protect American workers against a bloated workforce.
Based on precedents, shortening or possibly abolishing the OPT extension privilege altogether is a likely outcome, which can affect the status of the roughly 4,100 Filipino student visa holders in the US.
In sum, the USDHS is working on a fraud-stymying plan to stem the systemic abuse of a system that stems from the rampant overuse, if not downright fraudulent misuse, of the extendible STEM work privilege within the higher learning ecosystem (pun intended).
However, unless there is a hidden agenda to restrict the flow of legal migration in whatever form, it is by no means an ignoble idea, objectively speaking.