Bad news for Indian students in US: Tech workers target OPT Program, seek end to foreign student work permits amid H-1B debate

Supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump have raised concerns about the Non-compulsory Purposeful Training (OPT) program, a key quite a entire lot of for world students, namely Indians, to win work ride in the US and transition to H-1B visas. They claim it harms job possibilities for American graduates. The OPT program lets world students work temporarily after completing their study and is in most cases a stepping stone to H-1B work visas. However, teams treasure US Tech Employees strongly oppose it. They argue that the program acts as a “guest worker scheme” disguised as an internship, accusing universities of prioritizing profit by selling it to world students, namely in STEM fields, to rob revenue.

Critics affirm that the OPT program became as soon as created unlawfully, comparing it to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, and have called on Trump to cease it to offer protection to American workers from unfair competitors. They argue that H-1B visa holders, basically from India, change American workers and pose a threat to Western civilisation.

“The OPT programme is a guest worker scheme disguised as an internship for remote places students. Universities are selling work permits as an quite a entire lot of of coaching. Created illegally treasure DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), Trump should cease OPT to offer protection to American college grads from unfair competitors,” the US Tech Employees crew wrote on X.

“After STEM-OPT became as soon as launched, the series of world students, namely from India and China, skyrocketed. Universities actively advertised STEM-OPT to attract these students, seeing them as a profitable source of revenue,” the crew added.

It said that the OPT programme is a “guest worker scheme disguised as an internship for remote places students”.

“Universities are selling work permits as an quite a entire lot of of coaching. Created illegally treasure DACA, Trump should cease OPT to offer protection to American college grads from unfair competitors,” the put up said.

The brand new OPT program, called STEM-OPT, allowed world students with STEM degrees to prolong their OPT from 1 year to 29 months. This extension gave them beyond regular time to work in the U.S. and supplied employers with a new pipeline for more cost-effective compliant labor.

— U.S. Tech Employees (@USTechWorkers) December 30, 2024

These debates have grown louder as Trump prepares to rob remark of commercial on January 20. Although his campaign basically centered on cutting again low-educated and unlawful immigration, some hardline supporters have moreover criticized H-1B visas, claiming they displace American workers and threaten cultural values.

However, Trump, alongside with figures treasure Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has supported educated worker programs, emphasizing the need for remote places skills to address the dearth of engineers in the US.

Impact On Indian Students

Indian students rely heavily on the Non-compulsory Purposeful Training (OPT) program for profession advancement and as a pathway to securing H-1B work visas. In 2023, the Washington Alliance of Abilities Employees (WashTech) legally challenged the program, claiming it disadvantages American workers. However, a decrease court docket upheld the program’s legality.

The OPT program permits world students with F-1 visas to work in their topic of glance for up to twelve months after graduation. For students in Science, Abilities, Engineering, or Arithmetic (STEM) fields, the program provides a 24-month extension, allowing up to 3 years of work ride. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Products and services (USCIS) maintains a checklist of eligible STEM degrees for this extension.

In the 2023-24 academic year, about 97,556 Indian students participated in OPT, representing 29% of all Indian students in the US and a vital prolong from 69,062 the outdated year. Any adjustments to the OPT program may enormously influence Indian students meaning to enter the US crew by plot of greater training.