Indian students planning to study and work in the United States (US) may face new challenges as the Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa program has come under scanner.
Recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a major crackdown on the OPT program.
‘Magnet for fraud’
ICE Director Todd M Lyons described the OPT program as a “magnet for fraud” and said investigators found irregularities involving nearly 10,000 foreign students linked to suspicious employers.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, May 12, Lyons said the OPT program was originally introduced during the Bush administration and later expanded under the Obama administration.
According to him, the Department of Homeland Security initially expected only a small number of international students to receive temporary work training before returning to their home countries.
However, Lyons claimed the program later expanded rapidly, with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the US through OPT.
Allegedly fraud increased
He further alleged that cases of fraud increased over the years. During the first Trump administration, investigators reportedly found several foreign students claiming employment at workplaces that did not exist. Lyons also claimed the issue became worse during the Biden administration.
ICE said it has currently identified around 10,000 students working for highly suspicious employers. Officials believe this number could be much higher as the investigation continues.
Investigators reportedly discovered empty buildings and locked offices at addresses listed as workplaces for hundreds of foreign students. In several cases, multiple OPT employers were allegedly operating from the same address without actually leasing the property.
Last week, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) visited 18 suspected OPT worksites in Texas. Officials said they found several companies using similar websites and job postings for OPT workers.
What is OPT visa which students, including Indians, opt?
It is a US immigration program under which international students on F-1 visas can work temporarily in jobs related to their field of study.
The program is managed through the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and institutions approved under the F-1 student visa system.
Many foreign students, including Indians, opt for it to gain experience in the US. However, as it is under the scanner now, the rules for the visa program are likely to be tightened.
