For Indian students, OPT is the bridge between American education and long-term employment in the US. (Magnific)
For years, the American dream for Indian students came with a predictable pathway — first a US degree, a few years of work under Optional Practical Training (OPT), then an H-1B visa and, eventually, permanent residency.
Now, that route is under its most serious threat in years.
This week, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Todd Lyons publicly described OPT as a “magnet for fraud”, alleging that the Department of Homeland Security had identified over 10,000 potential fraud cases involving international students and employers.
Federal officials spoke of shell companies, fake jobs, “pay-to-stay” arrangements, and even international financial fraud networks operating through the student visa ecosystem.
The developments come at a particularly vulnerable moment. The American tech job market has weakened, AI-driven layoffs have intensified competition, and uncertainty around immigration policy is already discouraging international enrolment at US universities.
Here is why Indian students are worried, and what immigration lawyers are now advising.
What exactly is OPT, and why is it so important for Indian students?
OPT, or Optional Practical Training, allows international students on F-1 visas to work in the US after graduation in jobs related to their field of study. Students can generally work for 12 months under regular OPT, while STEM graduates receive an additional 24-month extension.
For foreign students, particularly Indians, OPT is not merely a post-study work benefit. It is the bridge between American education and long-term employment in the US. Without OPT, many graduates would have to leave the country immediately after finishing their degrees unless they already had an H-1B visa sponsorship lined up.
The programme expanded significantly under the Bush and Obama administrations as US universities increasingly relied on international students to sustain STEM programmes and feed the American tech workforce. Today, Indians make up nearly half of all OPT participants.
Why is the Trump administration suddenly targeting OPT?
The immediate trigger was a high-profile DHS and ICE press conference this week in which officials alleged widespread fraud within the OPT system. According to DHS, investigators found cases where students were allegedly maintaining their visa status through fake employment arrangements, shell companies, and third-party consultancies that existed only on paper.
Asel Williams, an immigration attorney based in New York, told The Indian Express that the investigations appeared focused on “widespread, systemic abuses”.
“DHS targeted widespread, systemic abuses in which fraudulent employers ‘hired’ OPT students solely to maintain their legal status in the country without providing actual work,” Williams said.
She said investigators visited worksites tied to employers who had hundreds of OPT students on record and often found “empty buildings or residential addresses” instead of functioning offices. “In some cases, multiple OPT employers shared the same registered address,” she said.
Another attorney from Dallas, Texas on the condition of anonymity said the underlying concern being raised by DHS is real. “I totally agree with USCIS. I think there is fraud in OPT and STEM OPT,” he said. “Some students are claiming to work for companies that don’t really exist or are not actually training them. That itself is fraud.”
He explained that OPT rules require students to work in their field of study and restrict the amount of unemployment they can accumulate. “In the initial OPT, they can only have 90 days of unemployment. In the entire OPT plus STEM OPT, they can only have a total of 150 days of unemployment,” he said.
According to him, some students unable to find jobs in a weak market may have resorted to fraudulent employment records to avoid losing status. “A lot of these guys probably are not having employment and to show they have employment, they have been trying to do some fraud,” he said.
Are legitimate Indian students now at risk?
Immigration attorneys say yes. Williams warned that even fully compliant students should now expect “heightened scrutiny”.
“I anticipate a higher number of Requests for Evidence issued by USCIS in connection with OPT students’ change or extension of status applications, such as a change of status to H-1B, as well as green card applications,” she said.
She said students may increasingly be asked to prove that their jobs were legitimate and genuinely connected to their academic training.
“RFEs may request evidence of a bona fide employer-employee relationship and consistency between actual job duties and worksite with the information on record,” Williams explained.
She advised students to preserve “job offer letters, employment agreements, training plans, wage documentation, pay stubs, proof of commute to the worksite, and proof of daily job responsibilities.”
“Even a minor violation can lead to denial of employment-based temporary or permanent immigration benefits,” she added.
Which employers are likely to face the most scrutiny?
Both attorneys pointed to staffing consultancies, third-party placement companies, and firms employing unusually high numbers of OPT workers.
Williams said Indian IT firms and staffing consultancies may face particularly close examination because the government believes there are vulnerabilities in “the questionable bona fide nature of employer-employee relationships, the lack of direct student training, and the absence of fixed physical worksites.”
She also noted that the DHS press conference “singled out Indian nationals” repeatedly. The Dallas-based attorney said “any company hiring a lot of students” would likely attract government attention.
“They’re talking about hundreds of OPT employees in some companies,” he said. “Third-party placements have to be very, very particular that there is legitimate work.” Still, he stressed that students working in genuine jobs should not panic.
Can the Trump administration actually dismantle OPT?
Probably not entirely, but it can significantly weaken or narrow it.
Williams pointed to a proposed DHS rule submitted in May 2026 that could fundamentally reshape student visa policies.
According to her, the proposed changes include eliminating “duration of status,” reducing student grace periods to 30 days, and requiring formal extension applications through USCIS.
“The proposed rule would cause unlawful presence to begin accruing immediately after the grace period ends,” she said.
That could dramatically increase the pressure on students to either secure employment quickly or leave the country.
Why are laid-off H-1B workers also suddenly worried?
Another immigration rule is making it much harder for them to leave the US and return. According to Rajiv Khanna, the safest option for a laid-off H-1B worker still remains finding a new employer within the 60-day grace period.
“As soon as the new petition is properly filed with USCIS, the worker can begin employment immediately without waiting for approval,” Khanna explained. But for workers who cannot secure a job quickly, the alternatives are becoming increasingly risky.
“The traditional fallback has been to file for a change of status to B-1/B-2 visitor status within the grace period,” Khanna said. “USCIS used to process these applications with relatively little friction. That is no longer the case.”
According to him, USCIS is now issuing extensive RFEs questioning whether job-searching itself qualifies as a permissible activity under visitor status.
“Workers who have followed this strategy in recent months have found themselves stranded, watching job offers expire while USCIS sits on their B application,” he said.
Khanna said the situation became even more serious after the September 2025 presidential proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B petitions filed for workers outside the US who do not already hold a valid H-1B visa.
“Leaving the US right now is, for many workers, effectively a one-way door,” he warned.
What alternatives are immigration lawyers now advising students to consider?
Williams said Indian students should first “carefully re-evaluate the ROI” of an American degree in the current climate. “For those already in the US, enrolling in another academic program is not something I would advise; it is largely a waste of money,” she said.
Instead, she urged students to begin planning immigration strategies much earlier. “OPT alternatives include O-1 visas, cap-exempt H-1Bs, EB-1A green cards, and EB-2 National Interest Waivers,” she said.
She particularly recommended the O-1 route for highly skilled individuals. “The O-1 does not require a lottery, can be filed year-round, and had a past approval rating of over 90%,” she said.
