{"id":1293565,"date":"2025-04-14T08:02:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T02:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1293565"},"modified":"2025-04-14T08:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T02:35:13","slug":"300000-indian-students-under-no-job-risk-as-us-plans-to-end-post-study-work-permit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/300000-indian-students-under-no-job-risk-as-us-plans-to-end-post-study-work-permit\/","title":{"rendered":"300,000 Indian Students In US Can Be Jobless After Course Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A newly proposed bill in the U.S. Congress has sent shockwaves across American universities, particularly among Indian students. The legislation seeks to eliminate the <strong>Optional Practical Training (OPT)<\/strong> program \u2014 a vital bridge that allows international graduates, especially from STEM fields, to gain work experience in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"465\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ify-1-1.png\" alt=\"300,000 Indian Students In US Can Be Jobless After Course Ends\" class=\"wp-image-1293584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ify-1-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ify-1-1-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ify-1-1-768x357.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why OPT Matters for Indian Students<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the <em>Open Doors 2024<\/em> report, nearly one-third of Indian students in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesstoday.in\/nri\/visa\/story\/new-us-bill-threatens-to-scrap-post-study-work-permit-opt-300000-indian-students-under-a-no-job-risk-471326-2025-04-09\">U.S. in the 2023\u201324 academic year<\/a> were eligible for OPT. The program currently offers 12 months of work authorization post-graduation, with an additional 24-month extension for STEM students \u2014 totaling <strong>up to 36 months of work opportunity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without OPT, students will be forced to immediately secure an H-1B work visa or leave the country \u2014 a difficult challenge given the lottery-based cap on H-1B visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Panic Across Campuses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed bill has triggered widespread concern. Students on F-1 and M-1 visas are now scrambling for legal support or considering moving to countries like Canada and Germany, which offer more immigrant-friendly policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Top universities like Cornell, Columbia, and Yale have <strong>advised international students to avoid international travel<\/strong>, fearing they might be denied re-entry. Many Indian students have already canceled summer plans as uncertainty grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Legal and Political Backdrop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The bill is part of a broader anti-immigration push by the Trump administration. At a recent U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing, <strong>Jessica M. Vaughan<\/strong> of the Center for Immigration Studies criticized OPT and CPT (Curricular Practical Training) as unregulated and vulnerable to abuse. She called for their elimination, citing the creation of an unchecked \u201cguest worker\u201d population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, <strong>WashTech<\/strong>, a workers\u2019 alliance, filed a lawsuit arguing that OPT enables companies to <strong>bypass the H-1B cap<\/strong> and undercut U.S. wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Numbers: A Massive Workforce<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In FY 2023, a <strong>staggering 539,382 foreign students<\/strong> were working in the U.S. under OPT, STEM OPT, and CPT. Unlike H-1B visas, these programs have <strong>no annual cap<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>276,452 on OPT<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>122,101 on STEM OPT<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>140,829 on CPT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Lies Ahead?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the bill passes, U.S. universities and tech companies \u2014 which heavily rely on foreign talent \u2014 may face long-term repercussions. For now, institutions are holding legal briefings and offering support to help students plan next steps in an uncertain future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A newly proposed bill in the U.S. Congress has sent shockwaves across American universities, particularly among Indian students. The legislation seeks to eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program \u2014 a vital bridge that allows international graduates, especially from STEM fields, to gain work experience in the U.S. Why OPT Matters for Indian Students According [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1293584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[438,7579,1129],"class_list":["post-1293565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-indian-students","tag-indians-in-usa","tag-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>300,000 Indian Students In US Can Be Jobless After Course Ends - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/300000-indian-students-under-no-job-risk-as-us-plans-to-end-post-study-work-permit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"300,000 Indian Students In US Can Be Jobless After Course Ends - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A newly proposed bill in the U.S. Congress has sent shockwaves across American universities, particularly among Indian students. The legislation seeks to eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program \u2014 a vital bridge that allows international graduates, especially from STEM fields, to gain work experience in the U.S. Why OPT Matters for Indian Students According [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/300000-indian-students-under-no-job-risk-as-us-plans-to-end-post-study-work-permit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-14T02:32:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-14T02:35:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ify-1-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"465\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/300000-indian-students-under-no-job-risk-as-us-plans-to-end-post-study-work-permit\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/300000-indian-students-under-no-job-risk-as-us-plans-to-end-post-study-work-permit\/\",\"name\":\"300,000 Indian Students In US Can Be Jobless After Course Ends - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; 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