Nineteen U.S. senators have written to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff earlier this week asking to extend the Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa for international students from the current 12 months to 29 months, according to the World Journal.
The OPT visas allow international students to legally work in the United States for up to 12 months after they graduate.
During that time, they can apply for their H1B work visas.But this spring, the 2008 quota of H1B visas was used up on the first day.
To retain the American university-educated high tech graduates in the workforce for a longer period so as to maintain the United States’s competitive edge over other countries, the 19 senators, including Patrick Leahy (D-VT.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), asked for the extension.
Indian and Chinese students are the two largest groups among international students and this news could motivate many more to apply for their Higher Education in USA.
Source: NCMonline News
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