Representative Paul A. Gosar, reintroduced the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act, legislation that aims to terminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
Gosar and many other Representatives wrote a letter to Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Secretary, and Kristi Noem, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, urging them to terminate the OPT program.
The lawmakers have urged them to identify OPT as a program that is dangerously unauthorized, abused, and costly to the American taxpayer.
Optional Practical Training Program
The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows foreign students holding F-1 visas to work and gain experience in American companies after completing their education in the US.
Eligible students can apply for up to 12 months of OPT employment authorization before and after their studies. STEM OPT is a 24-month extension of OPT for foreign students with STEM degrees in qualifying fields of study.
Lawmakers highlighted that the Optional Practical Training (OPT) guest worker program, which was never approved by Congress, has been expanded by the Obama administration. “We encourage you to identify OPT as a program that is dangerously unauthorized, abused, and costly to the American taxpayer,” said the Representatives.
Created in 1992, OPT was never authorized by Congress, thus not subject to certain regulatory oversight.
According to the lawmakers, the OPT program enables foreign students to work in STEM fields in the U.S. for up to three years beyond their F-1 student visa, circumventing the H-1B visa cap set by Congress, provided they have completed one year at a U.S. higher education institution.
Advocates of OPT argue that the program addresses workforce shortages and provides work experience. However, critics claim it undermines American students by offering lower wages to foreign workers and lacks protections for domestic students.
Terminate the OPT program
The lawmakers, through the letter, urge the immigration advisors to the President to swiftly terminate the OPT program so Congress can do its part to make the President’s action permanent. However, any action to change OPT other than immediate termination could inadvertently codify the program, like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
“OPT was created by a pen and can be terminated by the President’s pen. We cosponsor the House legislation, the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act, to codify a “clean” termination and prohibit any similar program unless explicitly authorized by Congress,” stated the letter.
While introducing the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act, Representative Paul A. Gosar stated that the OPT program completely undercuts American workers, particularly higher-skilled workers and recent college graduates, by providing employers with a tax incentive to hire low-wage foreign labor under the guise of student training.