For Indian families, a US degree has long come bundled with a crucial promise — a post-study work window that helps recover costs, gain experience and attempt the H-1B visa lottery. That bridge, known as Optional Practical Training (OPT), is now facing unprecedented political and legal pressure in Washington, sparking concern among Indian students who are most invested in the programme.
OPT under coordinated attack
In 2025, criticism of OPT has moved beyond routine immigration rhetoric into a focused campaign across Congress, federal agencies and proposed regulations. The common claim: OPT is an unauthorised work programme that disadvantages American graduates.
At a House Judiciary hearing in June, Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies described OPT as the “largest unregulated guest-worker scheme” in the US, citing over 5.4 lakh work authorisations issued under OPT and CPT in FY2023. She argued the programme fuels abuse and was never explicitly approved by Congress.
Echoing this view, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph B. Edlow has said the Immigration and Nationality Act allows student visas only for study, not post-degree employment. He has pushed for stricter audits and enforcement, potentially turning OPT into a high-risk compliance maze.
Lawmakers push to end or weaken OPT
Senator Charles E. Grassley has urged the US Department of Homeland Security to end OPT entirely, calling it unlawful and harmful to US workers. Senator Eric S. Schmitt has labelled OPT “abused” and criticised its payroll tax exemptions, arguing they make foreign graduates cheaper to hire.
The proposed American Tech Workforce Act of 2025 seeks to terminate OPT outright, ending work authorisation immediately after graduation. Meanwhile, the Dignity Act of 2025 proposes bringing OPT wages under Social Security and Medicare taxes, eroding its cost advantage.
Why Indians face the biggest impact
India now sits closest to the blast radius. Open Doors 2025 data shows Indian students on OPT surged 47.3% to 1.43 lakh, even as graduate enrolments fell. OPT has effectively become the centre of India’s US education value proposition.
Any move to abolish, tax or time-limit OPT could turn graduation into forced exit, weaken employer interest and upend long-term plans for thousands of Indian students. What’s under debate is no longer whether Indians can study in the US — but whether the US will continue to offer a credible work pathway alongside that education.