President Donald Trump’s immigration upheaval has led to scrutinizing student visas, especially work programs like Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT), which allow hundreds of thousands of international students to bypass immigration laws and potentially displace American workers. Though the programs can be valuable for foreign students to gain work experience, the visas lack oversight, are riddled with loopholes, and have been plagued by misuse and fraud. Can they be reined in? Or, with Trump wielding a pen like a hammer, will they soon cease to exist?
Student Visas – Gaming the System
These programs are supposed to give international students on F-1 visas a chance to get jobs related to their field of study. OPT requires approval from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and lets qualified people work for up to 12 months after graduation, though STEM graduates (science, technology, engineering, and math) can apply for an additional two years. CPT can only be used during a degree program and requires a job offer before a school official can authorize it. Those accepted must maintain full-time enrollment but can switch to OPT under certain circumstances.
However, many people stay longer than legally allowed. “In 2023 alone,” explained Business Today, “7,000 students from India overstayed their visas — the highest number among all countries. Brazil, China, and Colombia also reported significant overstays, contributing to a broader concern about visa abuse.” Some never even go to the school that accepted them. Once they arrive in the states, they go underground and work illegally.
Another big issue is “pretend employers,” a scheme in which aliens pay companies for false reference letters to maintain the appearance of legal OPT status. In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found an estimated 4,600 foreign college graduates using this scam.
Over the years, DHS has uncovered alarming evidence of fraud and abuse in these programs. In a 2020 operation dubbed “OPTical Illusion,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 15 students who used OPT to remain illegally in the states. At a press conference, when announcing the arrests, Ken Cuccinelli, then the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said, “Every instance of fraud is a job an American worker could have had, and with so many Americans looking for work, this crime is even more unacceptable.” […]
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