New US bill threatens to scrap post-study work permit- OPT: 300,000 Indian students under a ‘no job’ risk

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A newly proposed bill in the U.S. Congress could upend the future of over 300,000 Indian students studying in America. The legislation seeks to eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program — a critical bridge that allows international graduates, especially those in STEM fields, to work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduation.

If passed, the bill would force students to either immediately secure an H-1B work visa or leave the country.

According to the Open Doors 2024 report, nearly a third of Indian students in the U.S. were eligible for OPT in the 2023–24 academic year. The proposed move has triggered panic across university campuses and student communities.

OPT allows students to work in the US before or after graduation, offering 12 months of work authorization, with a 24-month extension for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) students. This brings the total duration to 36 months for eligible fields.

Students on F-1 and M-1 visas are now scrambling to secure H-1B sponsorships or considering alternative destinations like Canada and Europe.

The bill arrives amid rising anti-immigration sentiment and broader crackdowns from the Trump administration, including mass deportations. Experts believe it is part of a wider push to scale back post-study work options.

Rising fear

The fear has already led to behavioural shifts. Indian students are cancelling summer travel plans, fearing they may not be allowed back into the U.S. Cornell, Columbia, and Yale have reportedly advised international students not to leave the country until there’s more clarity.

The long-term impact could ripple through U.S. universities and tech companies that depend on this talent pool.

For now, institutions are stepping in. U.S. colleges are hosting legal briefings and creating support networks to help students navigate their options, said Nikhil Jain, founder of ForeignAdmits, told ET.

Why are these programs under scrutiny?

At a January 22, 2025, US House Judiciary Committee hearing, Jessica M. Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Centre for Immigration Studies, criticised OPT and CPT. She described them as unauthorised by Congress and plagued by diploma mills issuing fake work authorisations. “They should be eliminated or much more closely regulated,” she said. Vaughan noted that these programs have created the largest guest worker population in the US, with 540,000 former students working without proper oversight.

In 2022, WashTech, a workers’ alliance, filed a lawsuit claiming OPT helps employers bypass the H-1B visa cap, harming US workers.

The numbers are striking. In FY 2023, 539,382 foreign students worked under OPT, STEM OPT, and CPT. Unlike the H-1B visa, which has an annual cap, these programs have no limit on participants—276,452 students were on OPT, 122,101 on STEM OPT, and 140,829 on CPT.

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If you’re a recent Indian graduate residing in the US with the fear of having to return to India, please write to us for assistance at anikbiswas@gmail.com

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