Dear Erica,
Late last Friday, a presidential proclamation was released that extends for another year a prior proclamation that imposed a $100,000 payment on H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries outside the United States even though a federal court blocked implementation of such a fee last June, calling it an unauthorized tax. This action is in addition to the proposed rule that seeks to institute a $103,265 fee on H-1B visa petitions that are subject to the cap, whether the individual is outside the United States or not. The comment period for that proposed rule ended yesterday, drawing nearly 12,000 comments.
We are still awaiting the release of a proposed rule that is expected to establish a similar fee on the F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. Meanwhile, concern continues to grow over the impact of the administration’s broadcast messages that drastically reinterpret the regulations regarding F-1 Curricular Practical Training. At a special policy and advocacy webinar for NAFSA members yesterday, a representative from the legal firm, Jenner & Block, discussed the challenges that could be made to the legality of the broadcast messages. NAFSA and other associations are exploring all options. If your institution can attest to the harm these broadcast messages are inflicting on your programs and students, please use NAFSA’s Issue Net to share them confidentially.
On the bright side, Congress is showing continued opposition to the final rule that ends the Duration of Status (D/S) framework—a rule that was blocked from implementation by a federal court on September 14 while our lawsuit proceeds. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) led the charge in gaining a total of 33 signatures on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn the D/S rule. If the Senate remains in session next week, the resolution may come to a floor vote. Urge your senators to support it! (see below).
Encouraging signs from Congress also came in the form of testimony offered at a September 16 hearing held by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, entitled "Balancing Biotechnology Innovation and Biosecurity: Securing U.S. Leadership in a Global Race." Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-MD-6) affirmed “the importance of international collaboration and ensuring our international students and scientists continue to be able to be in the U.S. and ensure that there's adequate workforce and international collaboration” while Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA-7) said that “a lot of our highest functioning scientists come from other countries. We've benefited from an immigration policy that allows us to take the best and brightest from all over the world.” A professor from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health observed that for many of "the recent Nobel laureates, English is not their first language," and that "building a biotech ecosystem here is what gave us quite a few great Nobel Prizes, including CRISPR-Cas9 and mRNA vaccines.”
Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) pointed to the importance of bipartisan, bicameral legislation that he and others sponsored, the Keep STEM Talent Act (more on that below).
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
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Use the recent hearing to affirm the value of the Keep STEM Talent Act to your members of Congress and urge their sponsorship!
Thank you, as always.
Best,
Erica
Erica Stewart
Senior Director, Advocacy & Strategic Communications
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
