Pro-migration groups warn Trump administration’s fee plan could cripple OPT pipeline for STEM talent
Business lobbies say the Trump administration’s proposed $100,000 fee and tighter rules would dismantle the Optional Practical Training program that channels foreign STEM graduates into U.S. jobs.
Pro-migration lobbyists contend that the Trump administration’s draft policy to charge a $100,000 fee for OPT participants and to restrict CPT authorizations threatens a pipeline that has placed millions of foreign STEM graduates in U.S. jobs since its creation under George W. Bush. Sam Peak and Jeremy Neufeld warned that eliminating the program would erode the country’s ability to retain top global talent. In a recent Senate hearing, nominee Joe Edlow admitted that the current handling of OPT has created legal and practical problems.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued new guidance directing schools to deny CPT permits for work outside a student’s course of study, prompting some colleges to pull back from the program. Investigations by Harmeet Dhillon’s civil-rights division aim to address alleged discrimination against American workers, while reports describe Indian-run firms exploiting OPT and CPT to fill low-skill jobs and to build ethnic hiring networks that marginalize U.S. graduates.
Why it matters
Changes to OPT and CPT could reshape the U.S. STEM labor market and affect millions of foreign graduates and American workers.
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