Environmental and natural resource economics is now among eligible fields of study allowing international students to seek up to three years of post-graduate employment.
The expansion, released by the Homeland Security Department Monday, follows the addition of 30 fields in separate updates last year to the eligibility list for Optional Practical Training STEM extensions. The newly added field includes programs focused on the application of economic concepts to issues like pollution and land use.
F-1 student visa holders participating in the OPT program can work for up to 12 months in a job related to their field of study after they graduate from a US institution. International graduates with degrees in designated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are eligible for an additional two years of employment authorization.
The OPT STEM extension faced a long-running legal challenge that culminated in the US Supreme Court declining last year to take up an appeal from a rejection of the case. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit previously affirmed the program’s legality, allowing employers to continue hiring more than 100,000 recent foreign graduates each year.
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