Eliminating fraud will not fix OPT

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s new crackdown on fraud in the Optional Practical Training program is a welcome development. But even if DHS succeeds in rooting out fraud and abuse, it still will not solve the program’s far more fundamental problems. 

OPT allows F-1 visa holders to remain and work in the United States after graduation. Generally, participants can receive 12 months of work authorization, while graduates in certain STEM fields may stay and work for up to three years.

What began as a narrow form of practical training tied to education quickly evolved into a large-scale guest worker program operating outside the framework Congress created for employment-based immigration. The scale of OPT relative to other guestworker programs is shocking. According to DHS data, more than 505,000 foreign nationals participated in OPT in fiscal 2024. By comparison, the government approved about 141,000 initial H-1B petitions, issued roughly 72,000 L-1 visas, and granted about