In today’s news and commentary, DHS proposes a $100k fee for the foreign grad employment program; Trump suspends several tech companies’ ability to sponsor foreign employees; and a new study finds private equity perpetuates poor working conditions in New York home care agencies.
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require all graduates with F-1 student status to pay a $70,000 fee to participate in 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT). OPT is a launching pad for many recent foreign grads to work in a job related to their area of study in the United States before securing an H-1B sponsorship. An additional $30,000 fee would be required for those seeking work authorization beyond the initial year, such as a two-year extension for science, technology, engineering, and math graduates. In the 2024 calendar year, about 418,000 students, over 25% of F-1 students, received work authorization through OPT. The proposed rule is the Trump administration’s latest effort to impose greater hurdles on high-skilled foreign workers seeking employment in the U.S., coming just months after DHS proposed a $103,265 fee for H-1B workers.
Yesterday, the Trump administration announced that it was suspending Microsoft and several other companies from sponsoring foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the U.S. These firms are regular users of the government’s Permanent Labor Certification process (PERM), which is...
A Wixom, Michigan, business accused of making false statements to obtain a loan has agreed to pay a settlement of just over $1.5 million after it was sued by the federal government, according to th...