美国留学生就业计划大幅度扩大

Study: US Job Program for Foreign Students Greatly Expands

A new report says a United States government program for foreign students has been expanding in recent years.

The government’s Optional Practical Training, or OPT¹ program was set up to help foreign students graduating from American colleges and universities. It gives them a chance to stay in the country for temporary employment after they complete their studies.

The report is from the Washington-based Pew Research Center. It notes that many foreign students take classes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These four subjects are known by a single term: STEM. The center noted² that, under OPT, the number of foreign students graduating and working in STEM fields rose 400 percent between 2008 and 2016.

The federal program enables F-1 visa holders³ who complete school to remain in the United States and work for up to one year. Two years ago, the program began permitting graduates in STEM fields to work an additional 24 months.

In 2016, about 172,000 foreign nationals got a job through OPT. The program had 45,000 students in 2008, and 73,000 in 2014. The numbers are based on information provided to Pew by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, through a Freedom of Information Act request.

More than half of foreign graduates in the program specialized⁴ in STEM fields.

From 2004 to 2016, about 74 percent of OPT approvals were citizens of Asian countries, the Pew study found. Students from India, China and South Korea made up 57 percent of the total. Graduates from Europe were the second-largest group, with an eight percent total. Another eight percent were from Latin America and the Caribbean, while five percent were from Africa.

The Optional Practical Training program is not as well-known as the U.S. government’s H-1B visa program. But the number of people taking part in OPT is much larger.

Under the H-1B program, foreign workers are permitted to stay in the U.S. for up to six years. After this time, H-1B visa holders must either return to their home country or seek permission to stay permanently⁵. Working a temporary job through OPT is seen as a first step for many people hoping to receive an H-1B visa at a later date.

The H-1B program is designed to employ foreign workers in jobs requiring “specialized knowledge,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Many of these jobs are filled by people with STEM backgrounds.

Pew Research Center reports that in 2016, about 257,000 people took part in the OPT program. By comparison, the H-1B program is limited to a total of 85,000 people per year.

Pew noted that one reason for the rise in OPT numbers is because the number of new students on F-1 visas at U.S. colleges went up 104 percent from 2008 to 2016.

The United States has the largest foreign student population in the world. Neil Ruiz, a co-author of the report, says the OPT program has been an important tool in getting foreign students to attend U.S. schools and keep them here after they graduate.

But foreign student enrollment⁶ at U.S. colleges is reported to have dropped since the presidential election in 2016.

Last November, the Institute of International Education released results of a study involving nearly 500 colleges and universities. They were asked to provide enrollment numbers for the 2017-2018 school year. On average, the results found a 7 percent drop in the number of newly-enrolled foreign students at U.S. schools.

The institute says the drop is likely a result of government policies that seek to limit immigration and restrict travel from some mostly Muslim countries. In addition, the group says American colleges also are facing increasing competition from countries like Canada, Australia and Britain.

The U.S. government has also considered making changes to the H-1B and F-1 visa programs. Officials have said the changes would aim to prevent foreign nationals from taking jobs away from American workers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced plans to carry out “comprehensive reform” of practical training programs in an effort “to reduce fraud and abuse.”

The Association of International Educators estimated the economic effects of more than one million international students in the U.S. Its study found that the students added about $37 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 450,000 jobs during the 2016-2017 school year.

The association’s director, Esther Brimmer, said that it is important to realize there is “increasing global competition” for international student talent. She urged U.S. officials to strengthen policies that center on “our nation’s founding ideals of inclusivity and opportunity."

I'm Alice Bryant.

And I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

graduate – v. earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

according – adv. as stated by or in

background – n. the total of someone’s experience and knowledge

coauthor – n. someone who helps another person write a story, report or book

enrollment – n. becoming a member or participant in something

comprehensive – adj. including everything

fraud – n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

talent – n. a special ability or skill

opportunity – n. occasion or situation making it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do

1 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

4 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。