International education in the US faces uncertainty as the Department of Homeland Security dives deep into the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. This F-1 visa perk, enabling post-graduation employment, is under the microscope for potential curbs on duration and breadth, courtesy of the Trump team’s immigration reset.
Secretary Kristi Noem’s letter to Senator Eric Schmitt lays bare the rationale: Does OPT serve US labor demands, taxpayer interests, and security? Or does it stray from lawmakers’ vision? With participation skyrocketing, the program now grapples with heightened risks that could disadvantage American workers.
More than 300,000 students from India alone navigate US campuses, many banking on OPT’s 12-month baseline—plus 24 extra for STEM—to bridge academia and industry. DHS, per Noem, is realigning under Trump’s ‘America First’ banner, rooted in regulations over statutes.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s student oversight unit is on the case, plugging vulnerabilities raised in Schmitt’s prior alert. He branded OPT a regulatory invention, pushing for a root-and-branch examination that might scrap or revamp it.
This fits a pattern of Trump-era scrutiny on executive-driven immigration expansions tied to jobs. For India, the epicenter of F-1 inflows, stakes couldn’t be higher—potentially altering study-abroad calculations worldwide.
Stakeholders brace for outcomes that could fortify borders around employment while pondering the innovation edge foreign graduates bring. The review promises a clearer path forward, one recalibrated for national priorities.