Hundreds and thousands of foreign students studying in the US are anxiously waiting for the decision to come by the US Homeland Security Department that can change rules governing the post-graduation work training programs.
The department has planned to raise the time so that the students could work on the student visa, a continuing law suit that is looking for shortening the time period had left the students unsure of what would happen in the future.
Every overseas student could work in the US for a year on the student visa under the OPT program, but for the students with the degrees in Engineering, science and maths, this time, period could be extended by 17 months without requiring to apply for the job visa.
As per the Homeland Security Department, around 34,000 overseas students were doing job on the STEM extension as of 16th September.
A federal court in the US had invalidated the STEM extensions, a stir that can force all these 34000 students to leave the country until the Department of Homeland Security finalizes the latest set of rules for the STEM extension by 12th Feb 2016.
Around one million foreign students were registered in the US universities during the year 2014-15 and these students contributes around $30.5 billion to the economy of the US. The students also supported around 3,73,381 jobs because of their spending in the retail, education and other related industries.
