Joseph Edlow, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee for the post of the director at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in a recent nomination hearing said he wants to end post-graduation optional practical training (OPT) that is available to international students.A one-year OPT is available to international students, which is extended by another two years for students from the STEM field. International students undertaking an academic course hold an F-1 visa.During a recent hearing before a Senate Judiciary Committee, when asked about the changes he would make to the OPT programme if he headed USCIS, Edlow said, “I think the way in which OPT has been handled over the past four years, with the help of certain decisions coming out of the DC Circuit Court, have been a real problem in terms of misapplication of the law.”TOI had tracked and reported the legal challenges that this programme had faced. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech) had first challenged the OPT programme in 2014. After a long-drawn battle, the US Court of Appeals (DC Circuit) in Oct 2022 upheld the validity of the OPT programme and the two-year extension for STEM-OPT. While WashTech sought a review from the US Supreme Court, this was declined.In other words, the programme continued to be valid.During the hearing, Edlow added that he is in favour of removing the ability for employment authorisations for F-1 students beyond the time they are in school.According to immigration attorneys’ based on his statement it would appear the intent is only to have a one-year OPT (pre-completion OPT) concurrent with studies. This statement has sent alarm bells ringing among the international student community, including those who are aspiring to study in the US. International students are already under stress owing to abrupt revocations of their SEVIS status and/or F-I visas, even as district courts are ordering temporary restraining orders in their favour.A bill to eliminate OPT was also introduced in the House, but is expected to fall-flat as the numbers do not add up in the Senate for it to sail through.The Indian student community in the US is significant in terms of numbers. According to the Open Doors Report (academic year 2022-23), there were 2.7 lakh Indian students in the US, with 69,000 Indian students participating in OPT programmes. Responding to this development, Miriam Feldblum, president and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance (a coalition of over 570 campus leaders), stated, “Aiming to end post-graduation OPT will undermine the US overall ability to recruit and retain top talent from around the world. Experiential learning is and has long been a crucial component of education in this country. This includes post-graduation OPT opportunities.““Today, over 2.4 lakh international students participate in OPT, many in STEM fields. OPT enhances the educational experiences of international students while bolstering the workforce in communities across the US, supporting employers, and contributing to our economic competitiveness. We encourage the department of homeland security to prioritise policies that expand America’s global and domestic talent pipeline to spur innovation, boost our economy, and secure our nation’s future as a global education and research leader,” she added.
