Washington: A group of Republican lawmakers is urging the White House to shut down the Optional Practical Training program, saying the long-standing work authorisation pathway for foreign students was never approved by Congress and has grown into what they call a costly and unregulated system.
In a letter dated December 4 to White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said the student work program has become “dangerously unauthorised, abused, and costly to the American taxpayer.” They wrote that OPT “has never been riper for repeal.”
Signed by 13 Republican lawmakers, a copy of the letter was released to the press on Monday.
The OPT program, established by regulation in 1992, allows international students on F-1 visas to work in the US for up to 3 years after completing their studies, particularly in science and technology fields. The lawmakers argued the program “circumvents the H-1B visa cap” and claimed it permits employers to hire foreign graduates at “cheaper wages,” thereby “putting American students last.”
“Luckily, OPT was created by a pen and can be terminated by the President’s pen,” the letter said. The lawmakers told the administration that any change short of ending the program outright could “inadvertently codify the program, like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).”
The group cited federal immigration data showing that in 2024, “194,554 foreign students obtained work authorisation through OPT… and 95,384 foreign students through STEM OPT,” adding that “the greatest number of these students” came from India and China. They also quoted Immigration and Customs Enforcement as acknowledging that “the total number of foreign students working at any point during the year may exceed the number of employment authorisations issued each year.”
Calling OPT “the largest unregulated guest worker scheme in the United States,” the lawmakers said large corporations and universities benefit from hiring foreign graduates, while smaller domestic businesses “are among those hit the hardest by OPT’s fleecing of payroll taxes.”
They warned that the program gives participants access to sensitive areas, including “defence research and development,” “telecommunications,” “semiconductor engineering,” and “missile and space systems.” Citing a 2022 federal audit, the lawmakers said ICE “has not assessed OPT’s vulnerability to Chinese espionage.”
They also argued that OPT “fleeces taxpayers” because participants are exempt from Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, citing an estimate that the program costs trust funds “$4 billion annually.”
“Simply put, OPT strips opportunities from American students,” the lawmakers wrote, urging the administration to terminate the program “so Congress can put an end to this tragedy once and for all.”
(IANS)
