This article examines the geographic distribution of Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment by international student graduates of Missouri’s colleges and universities between 2007 and 2017. OPT is a temporary employment program that international students are eligible to apply for after graduating with a degree from a college or university in the United States. It offers twelve months of employment authorization, and students can work anywhere in the United States provided the work is related to their degree. OPT has seen remarkable growth over the past two decades, but employment has mainly concentrated in major urban centers. Based on more than 24,000 OPT employment addresses of Missouri graduates, this research shows that nearly 97 percent of Missouri’s OPT took place in metropolitan areas, most of which was out of state. Within Missouri, OPT employment was regional, with Missouri’s OPT students more likely to cross the country to work than to cross the state. Most local OPT work in college towns was located on campuses, rather than in the surrounding community. Indeed, the data show how Missouri’s smaller cities, towns, and rural areas—and their local economies—have all but missed out on the benefits of homegrown OPT employment.

本文考察了 2007 年至 2017 年间密苏里州高校国际学生毕业生选择性实习（OPT）就业的地理分布。OPT 是国际学生在获得大学学位后有资格申请的临时就业计划或者美国的大学。它提供十二个月的就业授权，学生可以在美国任何地方工作，只要工作与他们的学位相关。在过去的二十年中，OPT 取得了显着增长，但就业主要集中在主要城市中心。根据密苏里州毕业生的 24,000 多个 OPT 就业地址，这项研究表明，密苏里州近 97% 的 OPT 发生在大都市地区，其中大部分在州外。在密苏里州，OPT 就业是区域性的，密苏里州的 OPT 学生更有可能跨越全国工作而不是跨州工作。大多数大学城的本地 OPT 工作都位于校园内，而不是周边社区。事实上，数据显示密苏里州的小城市、城镇和农村地区——以及当地经济——几乎错过了本土 OPT 就业的好处。