Snap-O Fact #74

With the support of the Obama Administration, the Department of Homeland Security is expanding the pool of international students for the 17-month visa extension given foreign graduates a chance to be trained in their field and possibly find long-term employment, according to Fox News. The new policy focuses on foreign students majoring in the field of technology such as engineering, science, soil microbiology, video graphics and special effects, dairy science, neuroscience, mathematics, computer science, business statistics and personality psychology. 

According to the National Science Foundation, “more temporary visa holders enrolled in graduate engineering programs in 2008 than U.S. citizens and permanent residents. In 2009, 53 percent of physical science doctorate recipients were citizens or permanent residents, compared with 42 percent studying on temporary visas.” By allowing international students to stay in the United States to look for jobs after graduating from college, America will gain more financial support from these students via taxation. This policy will make the job-hunting process more competitive for U.S. citizens, but competition is always the key of capitalism and democracy in this nation.