US lawmakers are raising their voices against the Optional Training Practical (OPT) Program. Senator Eric Schmitt has written a letter to Secretary Kristi Noem of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to express his strong support for the agency’s reported plan to revamp the Optional Training Practical (OPT) Program. Schmitt recommended a full assessment of OPT to begin the process of modifying or terminating the program.
According to the Open Doors 2025 Report on International Educational Exchange, the number of international students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) reached 294,253 students, an increase of 21% from the prior year.
The call to end or amend the OPT program to discourage US employers from hiring foreign workers has come from various lawmakers in recent times.
Schmitt, in his letter to DHS calls for significant amendments or a complete termination of the OPT program.
“Americans never asked for, or even authorized, this program. OPT was created and then expanded by unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch, without the input or approval of Congress, circumventing the caps and limits that govern employment-based visas. This unfortunate exercise of executive action, however, means OPT can likely be overhauled or ended by executive action,” wrote Schmitt in the letter.
The OPT is essentially a ‘work benefit’ program tied to the F-1 visa, the standard nonimmigrant student visa that allows foreign nationals to attend U.S. colleges and universities.
OPT program allows foreign students to work in the United States for a maximum of twelve months after the completion of their degree, while STEM graduates are eligible for an extra twenty-four-month extension.
“Today, the program effectively acts as a pipeline for cheap labor that serves the financial interests of large corporations and academic institutions and discriminates against American labor in favor of foreign workers,” says Schmitt in the letter.
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security(DHS) has floated a new OPT rule. DHS listed the new OPT rule on the Unified Agenda, proposing that the new “rule will better align practical training to the goals and objectives of the program while providing more clarity to the public.
The proposed rule will amend existing regulations to address fraud and national security concerns, protect U.S. workers from being displaced by foreign nationals, and enhance the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s capacity to oversee the program.”