The United States will add 22 occupations for foreigners seeking practical training

Washington, Jan. 20 (EFE). The US government will add 22 occupations to its STEM diploma programs for foreign students seeking practical training in the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said today.) These programs allow international students to obtain practical training in the United States for up to two years after graduation. When DHS announced in 2016 an extension of up to 24 months in the option for foreign students to remain in the country, the government indicated that it would accept consideration for additions or subtractions to the occupation list. Today’s statement said, “Since publication, the Department of Homeland Security has received 97 new proposed fields for study from the public to add to the list, and has not received any suggestions from the public to submit fields.” New areas of study have been added including bioenergy, forestry, human-centered technological design, cloud computing, and an area called human zoology, which studies the relationship between animals and humans. Jobs in climate sciences, earth sciences, economics, computer science, environmental geosciences, and geobiology, a program that studies how living organisms interact with geological systems, will also be added. The DHS roster will add geographical and environmental studies, mathematical economics, atmospheric and ocean sciences, data science, business analytics, and industrial and organizational psychology, a program that studies individual and group behavior in institutional contexts. Jorge Laurie, director of policy at the US Immigration Council, praised the announcement in a Twitter message, and considered that the measure would allow “retention in the country” of foreign students who obtained their degrees in the United States. EFE jab / amv