How to plan my OPT work here in the US? Do I NEED to specialize?

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[Stuart] Hey, everybody! Stuart Bradley here. I have a privilege visiting with Nalini Mahadevan. She is the principal and owner of MLO Law LLC. Nalini, I am so happy to be here with you.

[Nalini] Thank you! I was entering the United States as a non-STEM person. Once I finished my studies, then I would have one year opportunity of one year to work for an employer.

[Stuart] That's the OPT.

[Nalini] That's the OPT -- that's the optional practical training.

[Stuart] Does the choice of work for OPT...does that need to account for a specialization if you're to any, to any degree you said, if we're STEM or not STEM...? If I want to stay here and maybe work for the H-1B, does my choice of where I work on OPT matter?

[Nalini] Where you will go?Nope it doesn't matter but, but your OPT, the OPT needs to...

 [Stuart] We're trying to do our proper marketing here. Where's our MLO logo.. here we go, all right.

[Nalini] So OPT, in general, means that you only work in the area that you are qualified for. So if today I was a mechanical engineer, I would have to look for a company that employs... who needs my mechanical engineering skills. So, part of being OPT is... the reason you do that is...as the law requires it, and as you transition into an H-1B visa and you're applying for an H-1B visa... it could be possible and that's most of the students who come to us, who's working sponsored by companies, these are companies that have employed these students and find them very qualified in their own core competency of the company or the core products. And so, once that happens, when you establish that connection, there you have a sponsor who wants to sponsor you for an H-1B visa. So, very important to know you can self file for an F visa, which is a student visa but you need a sponsor or go a job in order to qualify for an H-1B visa.

2:00 min

[Stuart] Understood. And that sponsor needs to meet and that application for the H-1B has to meet certain specificity requirement. It has to be specific to your degree,

[Nalini] Oh yes, absolutely. Yes.. yes. For instance,

[Stuart] and specific to the role on the job description.

 [Nalini] I mean, one of the things I would say is to look at your transcript. Does your transcript match your job duties that you.. for the job that you're applying for. Now, does the employer have the financial capability of employing you?

That means so... And then, so, there are basically three things that the government wants to look at... the US government looks at. Is this job specialized enough that you need a bachelor's degree in order to do this job or can somebody coming off the street just with a little bit of training do it? So, that has not become the threshold question. So, the more specialization you have in an area that is in demand, the easier it is to get a job.

[Stuart] Okay... Sure, sure!

[Nalini] So these are all things you have to think of.

[Stuart] So to break this down a little bit, maybe there's somebody you know listening to this video or thinking about coming to the U.S.,

or already here and they're looking at CPT or OPT. Maybe the goal is just to get some work experience or maybe work just for a year on OPT or three years on STEM OPT, that's...that's as far as the the planning is done or desired. Then, well, maybe with OPT we don't need a specialization necessarily? 

[Nalini] Like I majored in business, and business typically if you majored in business and then you say you want to do marketing, alright these are these are roles that are not really in short supply. There's lots of talent in the United States.

04:10min 

Now. they can say, now what happens sometimes that someone in marketing gets a job with the firm and that firm loves them and they sponsor them for H-1B and sometimes through the lottery it could work.But, generally speaking, to be successful in H-1B you need to have to fulfill a role that other people could not. Right? But, generally speaking if you just wanted one year of OPT, you could just shoot for that and do pretty much anything.

[Nalini] Well, the issue with OPT is you the US government says that that person must be... the there must be some nexus between the ...there must be some relationship between, you know, if you join the MBA and you've done your MBA in finance, and some of you think -- Oh I want to do marketing and we go to a marketing OPT. If it is just an MBA, that is enough for that for that job, it may be okay. But, if you, for instance, I mean nowadays even in MBA your marketing is becoming so specialized.There's a lot of quantitative analysis and all the market research that goes on ... So I mean, so don't do the... it may have worked a few years ago to be a little more general now I think. I think the trend in the market is being towards more particular, being more particularized. But, to your point, a person who wants to just stay here temporarily, which is why I started this.

[Stuart] What if your goal who just wants to stay here temporarily, you know, that person may want to just be in a job that is like you said "general: and then go back to the home country and transfer the skills they learned in that business and go back.

6:00min

[Nalini] I mean there are people who do that.