We support this proposed rule and urge DHS to finalize it.
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a regulatory program that allows foreign students to work in the United States after completing their studies, with the STEM extension allowing employment for up to three years. What began as practical training connected to a course of study has grown into a major foreign-worker pipeline. In 2024, according to DHS’s SEVIS by the Numbers report, 194,554 students participated in pre- and post-completion OPT, and 165,524 participated in STEM OPT.
Unlike the H-1B program, OPT has no annual cap, generally requires neither a labor condition application nor a prevailing wage, and does not require employers to seek American workers first. A program of this size, with direct consequences for the American labor market, demands meaningful oversight, transparent reporting, and accountability—particularly for its impact on American students and recent college graduates seeking entry-level employment.
OPT also gives employers a financial incentive to hire foreign graduates over Americans. F-1 students on OPT are often exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, depending on their tax status and circumstances. Employers hiring eligible OPT workers avoid their share of those payroll taxes, an advantage they do not receive when hiring American graduates.
OPT also serves as a pathway to the H-1B program. Foreign students can complete their degrees, work through OPT and STEM OPT for up to three years, and then seek H-1B sponsorship. Universities benefit from international enrollment and can market post-graduation employment opportunities to prospective students, while American students face increased competition for university places and American graduates face increased competition for jobs.
The training issue is equally important. When employers claim that American graduates lack the experience or specialized skills needed for available positions, the appropriate response should be to invest in training American workers—not to create incentives to recruit foreign graduates on temporary visas instead. American graduates can be told they lack the qualifications for the jobs their education was intended to prepare them for, while employers have pathways to recruit foreign workers and provide them with practical experience. If Americans need more training, public policy should expand those opportunities for Americans rather than redirect them toward temporary foreign labor.
American universities, particularly public institutions receiving federal taxpayer support, have a responsibility to serve the students and communities that fund them. They should be preparing American graduates to enter the workforce, not helping create financial incentives for employers to choose foreign workers over equally qualified Americans. American taxpayers should not be required to subsidize a system that can make American workers more expensive to employ than foreign graduates competing for the same positions.
The proposed fees place a cost on institutions that benefit from OPT and recommend students for the program. Schools that profit from international enrollment and promote post-graduation work authorization should bear a share of the program’s costs and have an incentive to recommend OPT responsibly. DHS cites fraud and worker-protection concerns in support of the rule. These concerns warrant serious attention in a program of this size.
We therefore urge DHS to:
Finalize the proposed OPT fees.
Strengthen oversight of OPT and STEM OPT employers, including site visits and enforcement of STEM OPT training plan requirements.
Publish regular data on OPT and STEM OPT employment, including employers, job titles, wages, and the share of participants who later transition to H-1B status.
Evaluate the combined effect of OPT, STEM OPT, and H-1B on entry-level employment opportunities for American graduates.
The future of the American workforce depends on developing the skills, experience, and productive capacity of Americans entering the labor market. Pushing American graduates toward unemployment or underemployment while expanding the supply of foreign workers risks undermining that goal.
A student visa should be a student visa. Post-graduation work authorization should be limited, accountable, and paid for by the institutions that benefit from it, not subsidized at the expense of American workers. The purpose of workforce policy should be to give Americans a fair opportunity to learn, work, and build careers in their own country. Immigration programs should not undermine that objective by expanding foreign labor supply without adequate safeguards, transparency, or accountability to the American public.
We urge DHS to finalize this rule.
nomoreh1bs.com
Sources
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers: 194,554 students in pre- and post-completion OPT and 165,524 in STEM OPT in 2024.
Our Comment: Optional Practical Training Fees
We support this proposed rule and urge DHS to finalize it.
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a regulatory program that allows foreign students to work in the United States after completing their studies, with the STEM extension allowing employment for up to three years. What began as practical training connected to a course of study has grown into a major foreign-worker pipeline. In 2024, according to DHS’s SEVIS by the Numbers report, 194,554 students participated in pre- and post-completion OPT, and 165,524 participated in STEM OPT.
Unlike the H-1B program, OPT has no annual cap, generally requires neither a labor condition application nor a prevailing wage, and does not require employers to seek American workers first. A program of this size, with direct consequences for the American labor market, demands meaningful oversight, transparent reporting, and accountability—particularly for its impact on American students and recent college graduates seeking entry-level employment.
OPT also gives employers a financial incentive to hire foreign graduates over Americans. F-1 students on OPT are often exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, depending on their tax status and circumstances. Employers hiring eligible OPT workers avoid their share of those payroll taxes, an advantage they do not receive when hiring American graduates.
OPT also serves as a pathway to the H-1B program. Foreign students can complete their degrees, work through OPT and STEM OPT for up to three years, and then seek H-1B sponsorship. Universities benefit from international enrollment and can market post-graduation employment opportunities to prospective students, while American students face increased competition for university places and American graduates face increased competition for jobs.
The training issue is equally important. When employers claim that American graduates lack the experience or specialized skills needed for available positions, the appropriate response should be to invest in training American workers—not to create incentives to recruit foreign graduates on temporary visas instead. American graduates can be told they lack the qualifications for the jobs their education was intended to prepare them for, while employers have pathways to recruit foreign workers and provide them with practical experience. If Americans need more training, public policy should expand those opportunities for Americans rather than redirect them toward temporary foreign labor.
American universities, particularly public institutions receiving federal taxpayer support, have a responsibility to serve the students and communities that fund them. They should be preparing American graduates to enter the workforce, not helping create financial incentives for employers to choose foreign workers over equally qualified Americans. American taxpayers should not be required to subsidize a system that can make American workers more expensive to employ than foreign graduates competing for the same positions.
The proposed fees place a cost on institutions that benefit from OPT and recommend students for the program. Schools that profit from international enrollment and promote post-graduation work authorization should bear a share of the program’s costs and have an incentive to recommend OPT responsibly. DHS cites fraud and worker-protection concerns in support of the rule. These concerns warrant serious attention in a program of this size.
We therefore urge DHS to:
The future of the American workforce depends on developing the skills, experience, and productive capacity of Americans entering the labor market. Pushing American graduates toward unemployment or underemployment while expanding the supply of foreign workers risks undermining that goal.
A student visa should be a student visa. Post-graduation work authorization should be limited, accountable, and paid for by the institutions that benefit from it, not subsidized at the expense of American workers. The purpose of workforce policy should be to give Americans a fair opportunity to learn, work, and build careers in their own country. Immigration programs should not undermine that objective by expanding foreign labor supply without adequate safeguards, transparency, or accountability to the American public.
We urge DHS to finalize this rule.
nomoreh1bs.com
Sources