Acting ICE director Todd Lyons informed press reporters Tuesday (Might 11) that over 10,000 potential fraud cases of global students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) had actually been determined in current investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
He said federal officials had actually encountered cases of espionage, biological risks, intellectual property theft, and frauds targeting elderly Americans: “All committed by people abusing their status as students”.
OPT permits international students to gain post-graduation work experience with a United States company for up to 12 months or 24 months for STEM students, while staying in F-1 visa status.
The program was established in 1992. It was expanded under the Bush administration in 2008 and the Obama administration in 2016 to keep pace with the global race for talent — one that OPT supporters state has ended up being “more urgent”. However Lyons stated the program had actually “ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of countless foreign trainees working the United States. As the program size has exploded, so has the fraud.”
“We are uncovering proof of organised scams that spans nationwide and global borders. This is not accidental. It is intentional, coordinated and criminal.”
DHS will relentlessly examine, interrupt and refer for prosecution anyone exploits our programs
Todd Lyons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
In 2024/25 participation in the workstream increased by 21%, amounting to nearly 295,000. The rise was mainly driven by Indian students who comprise almost half of OPT participants, according to IIE Open Doors information.
“Our nation will not endure security threats originating from the foreign student program,” mentioned Lyons, guaranteeing to “non-stop investigate” prospective exploitation and step up vetting at overseas consular posts.
He and other DHS officials recounted “alarming” site visits to 18 OPT work sites in Texas, consisting of finding OPT participants were presumably being trained by managers in India– an offense of the program’s guidelines.
One staff member apparently declared to employ only three OPT workers, contrary to records of 500 global trainees utilized at the firm.
DHS authorities also declared to discover evidence of international monetary scams involving networks of bank accounts across numerous nations, as well as “pay-to-stay” visa fraud where “phoney” companies were charging trainees to maintain their visa status.
Lyons declared countless trainees were “blatantly making” information offered to DHS, cautioning the criminal, civil and migration repercussions for such acts are “extreme and inescapable”, which more actions are “upcoming”.
Journalism conference shows OPT is as soon as again under examination from Trump hardliners who have long argued the program takes jobs far from American workers, suppresses chances for US graduates and serves as an inexpensive labour pipeline for big businesses.
Last year, the now USCIS director Joseph Edlow informed policymakers he would relocate to end the program, amongst subsequent calls from senators supporting its removal.
On the other hand, advocates of OPT have actually rallied around current bipartisan efforts to codify the program in US law, stressing its centrality to the value proposition of United States college.
Miriam Felblum, CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance, said all instances of abuse of the program ought to be “completely resolved”, emphasising international students are “the most carefully monitored nonimmigrant population in the US”.
“Cases of abuse need to not be utilized to validate sweeping actions or rhetoric that develops confusion and fear among trainees, college organizations, and employers,” she said.
Uncertainty about the future of the work stream has actually been a crucial chauffeur of deteriorating trainee interest in the United States, with 20% of colleges reporting a decrease in global enrolments this year, according to a brand-new sector survey.
Stakeholders warn this pattern will be exacerbated if OPT is limited, after 54% of present worldwide students suggested they would not have actually enrolled in United States institutions if OPT had been rescinded.
Lyons’ remarks come at a rough time for international students and educators, anticipating the imminent elimination of duration of status– which would need students to declare an extension of their F-1 visa to take part in OPT.
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