Senator Jim Banks has called for the termination of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in the US. In a letter to President Trump’s adviser Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Banks urges action to abolish the program, reports Breitbart News.
The letter, obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, has urged President Donald Trump to terminate the Optional Practical Training program, which provides firms with a tax advantage if they hire foreign students out of college over American graduates, particularly in STEM disciplines.
Under the OPT program, foreign students can work 12 months in their major subject before or after course requirements, and an extra 24 months in STEM OPT allows them to gain work experience in US companies.
Below are excerpts from the letter as reported by Breitbart News:
“OPT authorizes international students to work in the United States for up to one year after graduation for each degree they receive from an institution of higher education. STEM graduates are authorized to work in the U.S. for up to three years. The program is not authorized by Congress. It was established and has been maintained entirely by Deep State bureaucrats.
Despite OPT’s lack of political legitimacy, it has dramatically reshaped America’s foreign guest worker program. Nearly 500,000 foreign workers hold OPT status and most of them work in STEM fields. More than one-third of international students in the United States have work authorization, primarily through OPT.
There are nearly as many OPT holders as there are H-1B holders, yet OPT lacks even the minimal safeguards of the H-1B program. OPT permits are completely uncapped, lack a minimum wage floor, and come with no requirement that employers attempt to fill positions with American workers before hiring foreign workers. Employers actually get a 15% discount for hiring an OPT holder, as both employers and OPT workers are generally exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes.”
Banks also highlights that American STEM graduates are facing challenges in the labor market, as companies are preferring to hire foreign students via the OPT program, benefitting from a 15 percent tax break due to the exemption from FICA taxes for OPT hires.
Earlier, Senator Tom Cotton had proposed the ‘OPT Fair Tax Act’ legislation that aims to end the FICA tax exemption for employers of foreign workers in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. If enacted, international students participating in OPT would be required to pay FICA taxes, prioritizing American workers by removing the current tax-free status for these foreign employees.
Banks asks Miller and Noem to terminate the OPT program, arguing it lacks Congressional approval. He also advocates for capping the program and establishing a wage floor ranging from $90,000 to $115,000.
Joseph Edlow, Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, had also raised concerns about the current US Optional Practical Training (OPT) program model.
Trump administration also plans to limit foreign students’ stay in the U.S. post-completion of studies by changing regulations for F, J, and I visa holders from ‘duration of status’ to a ‘fixed time period.’ After finishing their programs, F-1 students will have 60 days to leave unless they change to another visa status, like H-1B or O.
