The outgoing US President Trump hammers the last nail to the already stringent US Visa Norms. In his final decision, the administration amends the H-1B visa process to give more weightage to skills and wages over the existing lottery system. The US administration claims that the new rule will protect the economic interests of US workers. Moreover, the country will filter the skilled professionals worldwide and accept high-skills with higher wage levels. However, the International Students will be the biggest losers in this new rule.

Let’s understand how the new H-1B process will upset Foreign Students:

•  The new process will focus on selecting the applicants with higher wage levels for US Work permit. USA wage level is categorized into Four Levels:
• Level 1 – Bachelor Degree and 0-1 years of experience
• Level 2 – Bachelor Degree and two years of experience
• Level 2 – Master Degree and no experience
• Level 3 – Bachelor Degree and three years of experience
• Level 4 – Bachelor Degree and 4+ years of experience
• As per the new rule, the immigration department will only consider the applications that meet the Level 3 and Level 4 requirements. And, they will also consider 75% of the level 2 petitions.
• They will not consider any Level 1 Petitions this year, which consists mostly of Foreign Students.
• Under the current rule, only the STEM international students will have the opportunity to choose three year OPT and the rest of the students may only qualify for one year OPT.
• Students who qualify for Level 2 positions are not likely to stand a chance against their Level 3 and Level 4 counterparts.

Optical Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment for international students after completing their studies in the US. Usually, the OPT is valid for one year, but if you are a STEM student, then you will an additional two-year extension.

Let’s understand the impact of this new rule:

The rule will have a devastating effect on the international students who will no longer succeed in US H-1B visa. Only STEM students may have a slight advantage, but maximum students will have nothing. The Universities in the country have also expressed their concern to the government that students would no longer want to gain an education in the USA. This rule will substantially decline the attractiveness of the US Study Visa and abroad education possibilities.

Alternatively, the UK is attracting maximum students with their new 2-year post-study work visa for students who can further look for permanent residency options with the new UK Points-based Skilled Immigration. Canada has always been at the forefront of welcoming international students accompanied by robust immigration pathways.

To more know about the US Student Visa and other alternative solutions, we at StudyAbroadExpert will provide all the answers to your overseas education queries. Call +91 8595338595 or mail us at [email protected] to learn more