March 13, 2014 | By Zach Rausnitz



Foreign students who remain in the United States after completing their studies under a temporary work experience program often don't report their employer's name or start and end dates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

These gaps in data makes it difficult for ICE to see whether beneficiaries are abusing the system to remain in the country, finds a report from the Government Accountability Office.

The recently released report, dated Feb. 27, says that in ICE's database of about 127,000 foreign students approved for the optional practical training program, 38 percent do not have the name of their employer in their records. ICE also doesn't require that students submit the start and end dates for their jobs. These gaps prevent ICE from ensuring compliance, the report says.

Under the program, students' jobs must relate to the subject area they studied, but ICE does not demand proof of that. So even when students list their employer's information, the agency may not be certain that the job qualifies for the program.

GAO's auditors found 35 cases where students in the program were working in food service despite receiving degrees in unrelated fields including economics and psychology. In nine other cases, students with degrees such as computer science and engineering had jobs in retail.

http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.co...nts/2014-03-13