What Will Trump’s Policies Entail for Indian Students
COVID 19 is writing a new world order.
And a recent order signed by the US President, Donald Trump, is further frustrating the aspiring graduates.
The order calls for the temporary suspension of H1B and other visas. The students and professionals who were keen to get these visas are now in a state of confusion.
The hugely popular H1B visa is a work visa that allows foreign workers to pursue jobs in the US for a limited period. Though the suspension has been imposed till the end of 2020, aspiring graduates are still unclear about its impact on their education and jobs based in the US.
What does the Order say?
As per the notification issued by the officials, new applications for many employment visas have been suspended till the end of 2020. The following restrictions will be imposed during this time:
● New H1B visas will not be issued
● New H4 visas meant for spouses of H1B visa holders will not be issued
● The multinational firms will not be able to relocate their employees to US offices via L visa
● Any immigration through J1 and H2B visa will remain suspended
The workers already holding a valid H1B or other visas will remain unaffected with this order. The ongoing employment crisis in the US due to the pandemic situation has been cited as the reason behind this suspension.
The Impact on Students
Since the executive order is focused on restricting the foreign workforce on a temporary basis, students remain minimally affected by these changes.
New Admissions:
For the students joining university courses in the US, this year or next year will need work visas after at least 2 years. Also, these restrictions that have been imposed temporarily to combat the unemployment crisis are most likely to be removed by then.
Students Already Enrolled:
The restrictions have nothing to do with the F1 student visa and hence students already enrolled in different courses can continue as before. Also, the foreign national students who are in the OPT (Optional practical training) phase after F1 visas can continue with their jobs without any restrictions.
The students from foreign nations generally have an F1 visa that eventually changes to OPT (optional practical training) followed by H1B or other work visas as per their eligibility and selection. OPT allows STEM students to work in the US for three years. The students can take up work during the OPT phase to gain work experience during or after their course finishes. With the newly imposed restrictions, the students in the OPT phase can expect to have even better job prospects due to the scarcity of new workers on H1B and other visas under restricted categories.
Opportunities Stay Intact for Students
While the professionals and multinational organizations may get a jolt with this executive order, opportunities for students remain unaffected. Also, looking at the brief period for which these restrictions have been announced, we can expect things to get back to normal, pretty soon.
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