Law Extends Some Visas

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has passed a rule extending the period that certain skilled foreign students can stay in the U.S. after graduation from 12 to 29 months.

Foreign students must have successfully completed a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics to be eligible for this extension of stay. The rule also states that the students must be working for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the student’s major area of study to qualify.

Former University President Lawrence H. Summers said that the new measures are appropriate and liberalization of visa rules for foreign students is desirable.

“We were doing a lot of damage to how the rest of the world viewed us as consequence of our unreasonably restricted visa policies,” Summers said.

Summers said he worked to make University policies toward international students more reasonable during his time as president.

Harvard undergraduate international students agree that this new policy will bring positive results.

Ognjen Ilic ’09, a concentrator in physics, said that the new rule lends more options because of the extended period of time the foreign students can work outside of academia and explore science-related industries without a work permit.

“I’m sure all of the international science concentrators here will like this change,” Ilic said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff ’75 said in a press release that this rule will enable businesses to attract and retain highly skilled foreign workers, giving U.S. companies a competitive advantage in the world economy. “I am sure several U.S. firms in the high-tech sectors have very much welcomed this policy,” said Economics professor Pol Antràs.

Cambridge City Councillor Sam Seidel said he believes this new rule will be helpful for Cambridge because the local economy, as well as the city’s tax revenues, relies upon these skilled industries.

“From the city’s perspective, Cambridge wants to continue to be a place that these companies want to be. One of the components is that we have a skilled workforce to meet their job demand,” Seidel said. “We have two of the world’s best universities in Cambridge and a million other resources, but it is critically important that we continue to make Cambridge a welcoming place for these companies and industries.”

Economics professor Kenneth S. Rogoff added that this new rule is “a move in the right direction” for the U.S. economy, and will be quite beneficial for many U.S. research laboratories in particular.