Over 3 Lakh Indian Students' Future Under Threat As US Congress Mulls Major Changes In Work Visa Regulations

The US Congress is pondering a bill that may eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, and panic is mounting among Indian students pursuing higher studies at American universities. OPT allows international students to work in the US for up to a year after graduation and an additional two years of extension for STEM graduates working for eligible US firms. But if the proposed bill is enacted, this route can be abruptly cut off, and thousands of students will be left without a way to remain or switch to another visa.

According to the Open Doors 2024 report, this facilitates over three lakh Indians to work in the US. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in the US from India and elsewhere are faced with the threat of having to leave the country once their studies are over after a new bill was introduced by US Congress. Although previous such attempts have failed, this bill comes amid a series of anti-immigrant moves, including mass deportations, by the administration as Donald Trump fulfills his election pledge to intensify measures that began in his first term.

According to some experts, this bill has panicked existing F-1 and M-1 student visa holders who are desperately applying for jobs that can transition them to an H-1B work visa, which is primarily sponsored by large US and Indian technology companies.

If the legislation passes, OPT may be eliminated without a safety net, prompting students to depart the US immediately," Poorvi Chothani, managing partner at immigration law firm LawQuest said to Economic Times. "Non-STEM graduates are already required to leave within a year after completing their studies," he added.

Chothani encouraged existing OPT holders to speed up their switch to the H-1B work visa if they get selected in the lottery or to consider prospects in other nations. Fresh foreign students, on the other hand, might have to prepare to face policies like the UK's, under which graduates need to depart after course completion.

Indian students redrawing holiday plans

Worries over travel restrictions have also caused Indian students to cancel vacations back home for summer breaks. Ivy League colleges such as Columbia, Cornell, and Yale have also instructed foreign students to abstain from travel until further clarity on the matter.

While the US remains the top study-abroad destination for Indian students, the tightening of visa policies under the Trump administration has led to a shift. Experts report a 20 per cent surge in applications to Canada and European countries for the 2025 and 2026 admissions cycles.

Economic and talent impact

International students contributed more than forty-three billion dollars to the US economy and supported more than three lakh seventy-eight jobs in the 2023–24 academic year alone, reports NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Opponents of the bill caution that removing OPT will push highly skilled talent to other nations.

Most companies employ OPT candidates due to their talent—rather than save money," remarked Keshav Singhania, private clients head at Singhania & Co. "Removing OPT would result in a huge outflow of talent." US universities are filling in the gaps to reassure anxious students. "Universities are scheduling sessions with immigration lawyers and creating peer networks to guide them through the uncertainty," Foreign Admits founder Nikhil Jain said to ET.