The United States may be tightening its visa policy for international students again.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said the federal government has uncovered more than 10,000 cases of suspected OPT program fraud.
OPT (Optional Practical Training) has long been a crucial pathway for many international students to work in the US after graduation. According to regulations, international students holding F-1 student visas can work in the US for 12 months after graduation; STEM students can extend this period to up to 36 months.
For many Chinese and Indian students, OPT is also an important buffer period on the way to H-1B work visas.
But now, this project is once again in the spotlight.
At a joint press conference with officials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), ICE disclosed a wealth of details about its investigation.
Lyons stated frankly:"The United States will never tolerate the security risks brought about by foreign student programs."
According to investigators, some OPT beneficiaries, while nominally working for U.S. companies, were actually being remotely "managed" and instructed by overseas teams from India and other countries, which violates the requirement that OPT trainees must receive training in the United States.
Even more seriously, some of these so-called "employers" don't even have any real positions.
ICE alleges that several shell companies allegedly provided international students with false employment relationships to extend their stay in the United States.
One such case occurred in northern Texas. A company reported to the government that it only employed three OPT students, but federal filings showed that the company had 500 OPT employees registered under its name.
Another company in New Jersey registered 150 OPT students. However, when investigators visited the premises, they found only one student on site. The employer could not explain the situation of the remaining 149 students.
The OPT program originated during the Bush administration and was further expanded during the Obama administration. As of 2024, the number of international students in the United States authorized to work through OPT had reached 418,000, of whom about two-thirds were from Asia, with Indian and Chinese students making up the largest proportions.
Supporters argue that the United States invests enormous resources in training international talent, and it would be a waste to simply send these students away after graduation.
Opponents argue that some companies are using OPT (Outsourced Training Program) to hire lower-cost foreign labor, squeezing out job opportunities for American graduates.
This large-scale fraud case will undoubtedly further strengthen the conservative voices demanding reform or even the abolition of the OPT program. In fact, the Trump administration has signaled tightening measures on several occasions in the past two years.
In 2025, the United States launched a large-scale overhaul of international student visas, during which many international students were involved in lawsuits due to immigration status issues. Current USCIS Director Joseph Edlow has previously stated publicly that he supports terminating the OPT program because it lacks clear congressional legislative authorization.
For many students currently studying in the United States or planning to study there, the uncertainty surrounding OPT is clearly increasing.
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