在美工作的小伙伴们，行动起来，抵制川普大帝可能进一步限制OPT/工签的行政命令

Dear Senator/Representative _______:

As graduating college seniors and working professionals looking to obtain authorization for OPT (Optional Practical Training) and OPT extensions, as well as supporters of the OPT program, we are concerned about two letters written to President Donald Trump: one by Rep. Lance Gooden, with the support of 7 other Representatives; and another letter jointly authored by Sens. Cotton, Cruz, Hawley, and Grassley. These letters are regarding the suspension of all nonimmigrant visas, including the H-1B, H-2B, L-1, as well as suspending the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for 1 year. We are writing to urge you to oppose any upcoming Executive Order implementing this.

There is a myriad of academic studies showing that high-skilled immigration actually decreases the unemployment rate in their respective industries. A May 2020 report from the National Foundation for American Policy highlights that computer-based industries, which account for over 60% of foreign worker occupations, have—ironically—experienced a 7% decrease of the unemployment rate in the past 4 months. The data simply does not support limiting foreign worker programs, even in the short term. In fact, long-term restrictions or the outright elimination of skilled foreign worker programs, such as the OPT program, will have long-lasting negative repercussions on the US economy. The effects are twofold:

1.     It would set a precedent unwelcoming of foreign students and workers, resulting in years of negative repercussions.

Suspending the OPT program, even temporarily, sets a precedent that shows foreign students that they are unwelcome in the US, which would dissuade them from assuming the risk associated with taking out student loans or investing in a US degree. International students already contribute $41 billion to the US economy, and support over 450,000 US jobs. World-class research in many research institutions would also suffer due to foreign worker suspensions. Over a half to two-thirds of all postdoctoral fellows hold a temporary visa, such as the H1B, according to the National Academy of Sciences. 

Unfortunately, the rhetoric alone from the Trump administration around reformation has dropped foreign student enrolment by 35% according to Business Roundtable. Outright elimination of the program would essentially be a death knell for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and will linger for many years to come.

2.              Companies would be harmed by the loss of OPT and H1B workers and be forced to outsource jobs.   

The entire premise of the skilled and student worker programs is to recruit top talent from around the world, to have a monopoly on global innovation. Many other industrialized countries are having significantly more success with containing the virus, so the United States is vulnerable in its global competition for talent. It would be a mistake to believe that suspending H1B and OPT would bring jobs back to US workers, especially when the data shows that these jobs would instead be moved abroad.

With high-skill industries almost entirely shifting to a virtual format as of late, it is now significantly easier for companies to outsource work to other countries. Additionally, a de facto expulsion of foreign workers as a result of an Executive Order would place a significant financial strain on companies to rehire and retrain new workers. As a result, outsourcing the jobs to those abroad and already trained would be the easiest way forward. 

This is bad news for the US labor market, as outsourced jobs circumvent any of the prevailing wage requirements, and do not result in the added consumption and spending of guest workers residing in the US. Highly skilled workers and students would simply go elsewhere without any incentive for coming to this country, threatening the status of the United States as a world leader of research and innovation. 

Given the overwhelming economic data favoring foreign worker programs in both the short-run and the long-run, the letters to President Trump propose disingenuous, thinly-veiled increments towards an anti-immigration and nativist agenda. We ask that you voice your support of foreign worker programs, such as OPT, and to push back against the relentless attempts at restricting immigration. These programs have only provided a net-positive for this nation, and the entire economy would suffer if they are removed from the equation. 

We sincerely thank you for your time to read this letter. We have the common goal of bringing the economy back, and we hope to be able to do so in the months to come.

Sincerely,

Over 640 students, working professionals, and concerned citizens.

Xiaoxing_ChuckGuoEsq

Chuck郭律师给大家带来：

抗疫进行时

还要注意维持身份

线上公益讲座

欢迎大家线上通过Zoom参加！活动信息如下：

「时间」

2020年5月24日周日下午2点

（美西时间）

2020年5月24日周日下午5点

（美东时间）

「参加方式」

线上参加：

Zoom链接：http://dwz.date/amSZ

Meeting ID: 843 7013 8961

Password: 060064

「内容」

1. 新冠疫情对各个移民机关和案件处理的影响

   
   
2. 川普大帝4月22日暂停签发移民签证60天的行政命令
3. 5月可能签发的限制OPT/工签的行政命令
4. 新冠疫情对各类身份维持的影响和应对措施
5. 适合华人申请的绿卡综述
6. Q&A。

Chuck郭律师

UIUC法律硕士，纽约州律师

美国移民律师协会会员

近几周旧闻新闻集锦

The federal scientist who was ousted last month as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Dr. Rick Bright was a high-ranking federal scientist focused on vaccine development and a deputy assistant secretary with the Department of Health and Human Services. On April 20, Bright said, he was transferred to a "less impactful position" at the National Institutes of Health after he was reluctant to promote the use of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients.

The Justice Department is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, whose lies about his contacts with Russia prompted Trump to fire him three years ago and special counsel Robert Mueller to flip him to cooperate in the Russia investigation.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said that he asked President Donald Trump to remove State Department Inspector General Steve Linick because the independent watchdog was "undermining" the department and wasn't performing in a way that the top US diplomat wanted him to.

致敬“最美逆行者”——白衣天使

5月10日母亲节快乐！

母亲节是一个为感谢母亲而庆祝的节日，而在世界各地的母亲节的日期有所不同。母亲们在这一天里通常会收到孩子们送的礼物；而在许多人心目中，康乃馨被视作最适于献给母亲的鲜花之一。

我就知道你“在看”