OPT available to foreign students in America faces risk of termination

The Optional Practical Training program is a legal channel that allows foreign students to work and get experience in American companies after completing their education in the US.

Of late, there have been voices heard in and around the Trump administration calling for an end to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. OPT program termination proposals have been floated by several top lawmakers and US administrators.

Jessica Vaughan, the Center’s Director of Policy Studies, has questioned the popular Optional Practical Training program in its current form.

In her testimony to Congress on June 25, 2025, she discussed how Congress can help restore integrity and security to the visa process. “Americans value legal immigration and welcome legitimate temporary visitors, but when applicants are able to obtain entry or benefits through fraud or abuse, the privilege of entry by overstaying, then public support for immigration suffers,” said Vaughan.

Vaughan outlined visa categories that she feels Congress should consider to determine whether they need to be managed more tightly, reduced, or deleted entirely, including Optional Practical Training.

Vaughan informed that the Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) programs, which were never authorized by Congress, and which have spawned an industry of diploma mills, fake schools, bogus training programs, and illegal employment, should be eliminated, or much, much more closely regulated.

“Currently, OPT and CPT are the largest guest worker programs we have, with an estimated 540,000 former students employed here, without accountability, oversight, or labor condition safeguards. In addition, Congress must impose stricter standards for credentialing schools before they are allowed to issue I-20 forms to visa applicants. Schools with high rates of overstays should lose their eligibility to issue I-20s,” suggests Vaughan.

OPT is a crucial opportunity for international students to gain work experience in their field of study after completing their degree. 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.

Foreign students are required to obtain an Employment Authorization Document from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to participate in any OPT form.

According to a recent study across US universities, OPT is crucial for attracting foreign students who are interested in work experiences (77%) and for helping American companies find and hire talented international students (70%).

Additionally, according to 71% of institutions, OPT benefits American companies financially. According to 84% of U.S. schools, overseas students would probably seek out alternative locations for their study abroad programs if OPT were unavailable.

Recently, there were similar views from others suggesting the termination of the OPT program.

Joseph Edlow, Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) top job as the Director of USCIS, said he would end the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme that allows foreign graduates to work in America post completion of their studies.

US politicians have also introduced the ‘Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2025’ to abolish the Optional Practical Training Program. The ‘Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2025’ bill seeks to remove the Optional Practical Training Program and any successor programs unless Congress officially allows them.