United States adds new majors under STEM OPT eligibilty for international students

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

United States has added new degrees that will be eligible for the post graduate STEM OPT programe. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amended the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List by adding eight qualifying fields of study. «The list is used to determine whether a degree obtained by certain F-1 nonimmigrant students following the completion of a program of study qualifies as a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree as determined by DHS, as required for the F-1 student to be eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion optional practical training (OPT),» the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. In 2022, DHS published a Federal Register notice announcing the addition of 22 qualifying fields of study to the STEM list. The Federal Register notice also shared instructions for how members of the public can nominate new majors for potential inclusion on or removal from the STEM list.

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OPT is one type of work permission available to certain F-1 nonimmigrant students. It allows eligible F-1 students (except those in English language training programs) to obtain real-world work experience directly related to their major area of study. The STEM OPT extension is a 24-month extension of OPT available to F-1 nonimmigrant students who have completed 12 months of OPT and received a