Department of Homeland Security Announces Reforms to Attract and Retain “Highly Skilled Immigrants”

Mar 2, 2012

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced several measures to streamline ways for immigrant entrepreneurs to enter and create businesses in the U.S., ways to retain more foreign-born science and technology graduates from U.S. universities, to facilitate immigration by top researchers, and help U.S. startups and other companies compete for global talent. 

Specifically for highly skilled immigrants in STEM fields, DHS announced that it would allow “outstanding professors and researchers to present a broader scope of evidence of academic achievement” and will allow F-1 students with a prior degree in a STEM field to be eligible for optional practical training (OPT) programs that would allow them to remain in the United States for up to 17 months.

For more informaiton:
http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/fact-sheets/20120131-dhs-retain-highly-skilled-immigrants.shtm