The United States has launched a sweeping crackdown on alleged misuse of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, with immigration authorities identifying nearly 10,000 foreign students — including several Indians — for suspected visa and employment fraud.
The announcement was made by acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, who described the student visa-linked OPT system as a growing national security concern and “a magnet for fraud.”
OPT allows international students studying in the US on F-1 visas to work for up to 12 months after graduation, or up to 24 months in select STEM fields. For many foreign students, especially Indians, the programme serves as a critical bridge to employer-sponsored H-1B work visas and long-term careers in the US.
But US authorities now claim the system is being widely abused.
Addressing a press conference, Lyons said multiple investigations by the Department of Homeland Security uncovered serious violations ranging from visa fraud and illegal employment practices to intellectual property theft, espionage concerns, biological threats and financial scams.
Federal investigators reportedly conducted site inspections and found cases where OPT participants were allegedly supervised or “managed” remotely by employees based in India — a practice officials say violates programme rules requiring training oversight to occur within the United States.
ICE officials argued that the OPT programme has drifted far beyond its original purpose. Introduced during the George W Bush administration, the initiative was initially designed to offer limited temporary work exposure to foreign students before they returned to their home countries.
Instead, Lyons claimed, the programme has evolved into what he called an “uncontrolled guest worker pipeline” involving hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals working in the US.
He accused some participants of exploiting the American education and immigration system, calling the alleged misuse “a blatant attack on the goodwill of the American people.”
The development is likely to create anxiety among thousands of Indian students and professionals currently relying on OPT as a pathway to employment and long-term residency in the United States. India remains one of the largest contributors to the international student population in America, particularly in STEM and technology-related fields.
So far, officials have not publicly disclosed how many Indians are among the 10,000 flagged cases, nor whether deportation proceedings or visa cancellations have begun.
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