Varun K* has been living in the United States for almost a decade now. He came to the US to pursue his Masters in Computer Science in 2011.
After finishing his Optional Practical Training (OPT), the company he was working for, sponsored his H-1B visa.
“Without the OPT, higher education is not attractive in the US. Because it is expensive and the education does not amount to much without the work experience,” Varun said.
Varun’s story echoes the dreams of thousands of Indian students who come to the US to study and hopefully get to work in the country, even at the risk of having to take education loans worth lakhs.
So for these students, who spend years repaying the loan — or at times decades if they do not get a job — higher education in the US might not be attractive without prospect of a job.
Amid speculation over OPT suspension for foreign students, higher education in the US might lose its sheen.
Why are we talking about OPT now?
The Department of Homeland Security and the Labour Department are reviewing the temporary visa workers' programme, including curbs on H-1B and OPT as per the executive order US President Donald Trump signed recently.
This is in a bid to save American jobs. So far, more than 30 million Americans have lost jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is OPT?
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) defines OPT as a temporary employment that can be availed by foreign students (F-1 visa) before or after the completion of studies.
The time period of OPT is one year. However, if you are a Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) student, you can get an extension of additional 24 month. In essence, STEM graduates get three years of temporary employment in the US.
What do Indian students gain from studying in the US?
While campus hiring does happen, number of students who get employed through that process is minimal, said Sagar S*, another techie. "So maybe, top 5-10 percent get employed. For the rest of us, OPT is a lifeline," he said.
Like Sagar, OPT gives students the window to seek employment in the US and potentially convert it to an H-1B visa.
H-1B, a skilled worker non-immigrant visa, is the most coveted by Indians. It gives them the opportunity to become permanent residents and later the citizens — a dream thousands habour.
While many go to the US through their employers, the recent changes in the visa regime that came to effect in April, favour those who have completed higher education in the US. This only makes doing Master’s programme in the US more attractive.
According to reports, there are over two lakh Indian graduates in the US — second largest student community after China. According to a report by Breitbart, close to 70,000 Indian graduates got work permits for OPT jobs in 2018.
So if OPT is suspended, how attractive will American universities be?
It will not be attractive at all, says Vikram K*, a techie now settled in the US.
Without the promise of experience, students will be spending a large amount of money just to return home. With no job security, students and parents will be wary of taking on such huge loans that takes years to repay, he added.
“I am still repaying my education loan I took in 2014. With no jobs, it does not make financial sense,” he added.
However, that is not the only reason. Take the case of Vasanth K*, a gaming programmer. His sole purpose of choosing the US for higher education was the opportunity the country offers for hard core techies like him. His opportunities to earn big bucks is limited in India. But, there is vibrant startup ecosystem in the Silicon Valley, inter-disciplinary research and sheer diversity.
"So I left India to pursue my dreams and I love what I am doing as a programmer right now," he added. It was OPT that made it possible for him.
"Without OPT, all I will be spending is Rs 50 lakh for two years. It just does not make sense,” he added.
What will US lose out on?
The US has a lot to lose too. According to a report by Open Doors, international students contributed $44.7 billion to the US economy in 2018. That was increase of 5.5 percent from the previous year.
A Businessroundtable.org report suggests: “If the administration introduces policy changes, that would lead to a 35 percent reduction in the issuance of foreign-born student visas and a 60 percent decline in OPT participation by 2020, the effect on the US economy would be negative.”
The reports further adds that since only international students in the US can avail OPT, participants are young and perfectly positioned to contribute to economic growth.
For instance, 1 percent increase in immigrant college graduates leads to a 15 percent increase in patents per capita. The report also suggests that this spurs starting of new businesses and expansion of labour market benefiting the US economy.
(* denote name changes)
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