Senate Bill Would Allow Students with STEM Degrees to Obtain Green Card
May 18th, 2012 by SRW Lawyers
The Senate has recently introduced a proposed law called the SMART Jobs Act (S. 3192), which would create a new F-4 visa classification for individuals pursuing Masters and PhD programs in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Individuals under an F-4 visa would be eligible for 1-year of employment authorization following completion of their degree. Such employment would have to be in the student’s field of study.
F-4 visa students would also be eligible to apply for U.S. permanent residence (i.e. a green card) after graduation provided they are working full-time in a position in a STEM field. The advantage of this proposed law is that (1) F-4 visa students would apparently not need an employer to formally sponsor them for a green card; and (2) they would not be subject to the annual numerical limitations placed on immigrant visas (i.e. the visa backlog). Read the full text of the proposed law.
