Navigating U.S. Immigration Policies: Insights on OPT and H-1B Visa Changes

TL;DR

Stay informed with the latest developments in education, covering global policies, higher education trends, and opportunities for international students. The Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B visa programs are vital for international students, especially in STEM fields, to gain work experience and contribute to the U.S. economy. In 2023-2024, 242,782 students participated in OPT, with Indian students leading in numbers. These programs address critical workforce shortages and drive innovation, benefiting the economy. 

However, they face criticism for allegedly suppressing wages and displacing local workers, while supporters argue they fill key gaps and enhance competitiveness. Under Trump’s presidency, stricter scrutiny and potential reforms are expected, creating uncertainty for students and employers. With the 2026 mid-term elections approaching, these programs’ future remains uncertain, making it crucial for international students to stay informed and prepared.

With almost 269,000 students enrolled in 2024 — a 35 percent increase from the year before—Indian students play a significant role in American higher education. They primarily enroll in graduate programs in business, science, and technology, and are now the largest ethnic group of international students on US campuses, followed by the Chinese. 

As of now, international students can get work experience under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme. This programme, administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, operates under clear and explicit rules and the sanctioned permits have a set duration. See the USCIS website, Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students, for a detailed description of the OPT programme and its rules.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, approximately 242,782 international students participated in Optional Practical Training. This was a record high and a 22 percent increase from the previous year.  As a part of the total number, approximately 97,556 Indian students were enrolled in OPT, which was about 41 percent of all international students participating in the programme. It was a significant rise from 69,062 in the previous year.  Of all Indian-origin students studying in the USA in 2024, the number participating in OPT came to about 20 percent. Since engineering, math, and computer science are the most popular courses among Indian students, many of them have been able to avail of the STEM OPT extension.

The OPT programme, which has been running for 78 years, faced no criticism until about ten years ago.

• In 2012, Republican Senator Charles Grassley asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the program might undermine US workers.
• In March 2016, in the course of his presidential campaign, Trump called for the abolition of H-1B visas, calling them “very bad for American workers.”
• In 2017 the Trump Administration listed a proposed new rule for the OPT programme “intended to reduce fraud and abuse” for discussion in the 2017 DHS Regulatory Agenda — but no large-scale reforms materialized.  Instead, the Department of Security announced that employers’ offices and Designated Student Officials at universities who approve OPT applications would be closely monitored.  However, the OPT programme continued to run normally throughout Trump’s presidency.
• In 2020 more criticism of the OPT programme was heard during Donald Trump’s failed presidential campaign, but it died down during the years of the Biden presidency.
• In 2020, a US federal court ruled in a case brought by Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (a union representing STEM workers) that OPT was not illegal nor did evidence support the contention that OPT operated to the detriment of American workers.  This was also the conclusion of an eight-year study funded by the National Foundation for American Policy published in 2019.

With the return of Trump in 2024, criticism of the OPT programme has also returned and at present is loud indeed. The president-elect’s MAGA base has mobilized to hold Trump to his America First campaign promises, which they see as implying an end to both the H-1B visa and the OPT programme.

However, it must be noted that the MAGA element is not alone in criticizing the H-1B visa or the OPT programme. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist – in other words, the antithesis of MAGA — also condemns them. He argues: “The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad. 

Can the H-1B visa and the OPT programme survive fire from both the Extreme Right and the Extreme Left?

Is there any merit in opponents’ claims that the visa and OPT system …helps employers to keep wages low?… discriminates against local workers? … reduces foreign employees to “indentured servitude” since any worker complaining about pay or conditions can have their visa rescinded by their employer and be deported? 

Are there flaws in the arguments in favour of abolishing the H-1B visa and OPT programme?

The obvious contradiction is that MAGA-wooing talk of benefitting local workers remains confined to restricting opportunities for international workers. Can conservatives claim to be championing the cause of the American worker when they are silent on measures that would increase job security, uphold trade union rights (including the right to strike), enhance benefits to workers and uphold progressive taxation?  Even provisions that would benefit workers as consumers, such as sanctions against price gouging, are never mentioned. 

How is it possible to work up passions of non-affluent, working class Americans but at the same time ensure that the interests and behaviour of American corporates remain unscrutinised?  The answer is to sharply narrow the focus onto a purported competition between American workers and foreign workers.

What do we mean by “Purported competition”?

The numbers tell the story. The total number of foreign workers legally employed on H-1B visas in the USA in 2024 was only slightly more than one lakh. To be precise, the number was 110,791. This figure includes both new visas and renewals.

• As for H1B registrations for the 2024 season, the USCIS received 780,884 but approved only 10 percent.
• In 2024, the size of the total US workforce employed in STEM occupations was estimated at 36.8 million. These STEM workers accounted for about 24 percent of the total US workforce. 
• According to a report by SThree, the demand for STEM talent will rise in 2025. 
• The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 10 percent increase in STEM employment over the decade from 2023 to 2033. 
• The National Association of Manufacturers and Deloitte are even more specific: US employers will have to fill 3.5 million STEM jobs in 2025, with more than 2 million of them going unfilled for lack of qualified candidates. This shortage is driven by a combination of factors, including an aging workforce, a lack of sufficient STEM graduates, and increasing demand for high-tech skills.

If foreign workers (mainly STEM) on H-1B visas number just a little more than one lakh and the projected demand for STEM workers in 2025 is 3.5 million, how can it be said that foreign workers are depriving American workers of job opportunities? 

When YUNO LEARNING sets out exact – and sourced — figures for workforce, H-1B visas and OPT participation, we are indulging in “fact-mongering”. Facts can be cross-checked and “mongering” them involves reason and logic. It is the exact opposite of “fear-mongering”. 

For an example of fear-mongering, see the comments of MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, decrying “third world invaders from India”. Such comments are emotion-based and reflect an attempt to play on fear.  Loomer holds no elected or administrative office nor any position in the Trump transition team. It is worth noting that, while warning of an impending “MAGA civil war” and claiming that the Sriram Krishnan appointment was part of an “India First” agenda, she was careful to direct her ire against “tech bro” cabinet appointees, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, accusing them of undermining American labour interests. She made no mention of Trump himself.

The present conflict was inevitable given the nature of president-elect Trump’s supporters. In order to attract enough votes to win, it was necessary for Trump to position himself as the champion of the American worker.

In order to attract the money to finance his campaign, it was necessary for Trump to position himself as the champion of corporate America. 

In 2028, President Trump will complete his second and final term, as Article 22 of the US Constitution limits presidents to two terms. Before this, the mid-term elections in November 2026 will decide the control of Congress, with all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats up for election. This means that the Republican Party – and Trump – must heed the sentiments of the MAGA base if they want to keep control of Congress.

After the mid-term poll, for Trump at least, MAGA approval is immaterial. However, he will still need friends with deep pockets. As of this writing, Trump’s statements indicate that – mid-terms or no mid-terms — he is going to take the risk of sticking with his corporate friends even if angers the MAGA element.

US President  Donald Trump reaffirmed his stance on H-1B visas during a New Year’s Eve address at his Mar-a-Lago resort, stating: “I didn’t change my mind on H-1B visas. I’ve always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country. We need smart people in our country. We need a lot of people coming in. We’re going to have jobs like never before.”

Looking Ahead: What Students Can Expect

• Ground realities can change rapidly, but based on what we read at present, the following developments seem likely:
• Early in his term of office, President Trump will announce a big scale-back for H-1B visas and the Optional Training Programme.
• The announcement will be followed by a presidential order to the USCIS to make scrutiny of applications for H-1B visas and the OPT programme tougher.
• Another announcement may declare that new regulations or legislation are being drafted.  The draft will be sent for consultations which could easily carry on well past the November 3, 2026 mid-term election day.
• H-1B visa regulations and provisions of the OPT programme may actually be rewritten but it is probable that corporate interests will do the writing and the provisions will insure their maximum benefit. 

Trump’s most conspicuous corporate confidante, Elon Musk, has clearly spelled out what maximum benefit means to him: “I am referring to bringing in via legal immigration the top ~0.1 percent of engineering talent as being essential for America to keep winning. This is like bringing in the Jokic’s or Wemby’s of the world to help your whole team (which is mostly Americans!) win the NBA. Thinking of America as a pro sports team that has been winning for a long time and wants to keep winning is the right mental construct.”

YUNO LEARNING advises Indian students to brace for rodomontade in the early months of the Trump presidency but, as corporate interests quietly gain ascendancy in Washington, chances brighten for studying in the USA, availing of Optional Practical Training and progressing to an H-1B visa. Of course, prediction is always risky; many can foretell, but none can know. C. Rajagopalachari, the shrewd Tamil leader who fought for freedom alongside Gandhi-ji, had a phrase that is still famous … “Paarakkalaam”. Wait and see.