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A bill to eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for international students, which enables them to obtain work experience in the US post their studies, has been introduced in the House.
However, according to immigration attorneys there is no cause for panic as it is unlikely that the bill will pass in the Senate – “The Republicans do not have the numbers for this to sail through,” is the unanimous view.
Several international students are currently reeling under the abrupt termination of their SEVIS records and legal status in the US. This bill has caused added anxiety among the international student community. The Indian student contingent is the largest – 3.3 lakh strong, with 97,556 currently undergoing OPT, as per the latest Open Doors report (for the academic year 2023-24).
International students can enroll for a one year OPT post their studies, while those from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are eligible for an additional two years.
Congressman Paul Gosar introduced this bill, known as the H.R.2315 – Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2025. His official statement reads: “The OPT program completely undercuts American workers, particularly higher-skilled workers and recent college graduates, by giving employers a tax incentive to hire inexpensive, foreign labour under the guise of student training.”
“Never authorized by Congress, OPT circumvents the H-1B visa cap set by Congress by allowing over 100,000 aliens admitted into our country on student visas to continue working in the US for another three years after completing their academic studies. OPT incentivizes greedy businesses to fire Americans and replace them with inexpensive foreign labour by avoiding having to pay federal payroll and Medicare payroll taxes and other employee benefits…”
The extended period of OPT for STEM students is viewed by Trump’s hardline supporters as harmful to American interests, potentially taking jobs away from Americans. The idea of cutting back the OPT program had first emerged in the Trump administration’s 2020 spring agenda.
The extended OPT program for STEM students has also faced legal challenges in the past. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers Union (Wash Tech) had argued that the OPT program was much beyond the scope of the F-1 visa class, which is issued to international academic students. When it lost on appeal, Wash Tech had approached the US Supreme Court, but its request for review of the lower court’s decision was turned down in Oct, 2023.
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