optional practical training – ImmigrationReform.com

The OPT Program Should Be Abolished

Jason Pena — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 23:16:36 +0000

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently released its annual report on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The report – which gathered its data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System – gives details of the international student population across the U.S. for the calendar year 2021. The SEVP report provides insight into how [...]

The post The OPT Program Should Be Abolished appeared first on ImmigrationReform.com.

Following the ‘Science,’ DHS Opens More Jobs to Foreign Students

Bob Dane — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 18:09:22 +0000

The largest guest-worker program in America’s immigration system is getting bigger. Skirting regulatory processes, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last month that even more jobs will be open to foreign nationals through Optional Practical Training (OPT). Expanding the subsidized student employment program is a lose-lose proposition that further disadvantages U.S. workers and comes [...]

The post Following the ‘Science,’ DHS Opens More Jobs to Foreign Students appeared first on ImmigrationReform.com.

Biden OPTs to Keep Cheap Labor Scheme Going Unchecked

Bob Dane — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 17:42:36 +0000

A fraud-prone employment program involving nearly a half-million foreign students is enjoying a free ride these days. Days after taking office, President Joe Biden aborted efforts to step up regulation of the government’s little known and largely unsupervised Optional Practical Training (OPT) system. No enforcement actions have been reported since October 2020, when the Department [...]

The post Biden OPTs to Keep Cheap Labor Scheme Going Unchecked appeared first on ImmigrationReform.com.

Youngest Member of Congress Introduces Immigration Bill to Protect Recent Graduates

Preston Huennekens — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:33:47 +0000

Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) recently introduced the Responsible Practical Training Act, a bill that aims to reform the controversial and FAIR-opposed Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. A part of the larger F-1 student visa program, OPT permits F-1 graduates to extend their stay in the United States by working for 1-2 years following their graduation. [...]

The post Youngest Member of Congress Introduces Immigration Bill to Protect Recent Graduates appeared first on ImmigrationReform.com.

Oversight of Foreign Student Work Program Goes Dark

Bob Dane — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 20:37:50 +0000

Less than two weeks after it created, a federal office tasked to track a fraud-ridden foreign student work program has been closed. The Optional Practical Training (OPT) Employment Compliance Unit was set up Jan. 13 with orders to report on the duties, hours and compensation of OPT workers. But President Joe Biden’s deputies, apparently uninterested [...]

The post Oversight of Foreign Student Work Program Goes Dark appeared first on ImmigrationReform.com.

The Notorious OPT Program Can’t Be Mended, So It Must Be Ended

Jennifer G. Hickey — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 19:52:00 +0000

At an October 21 press conference, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials announced the arrest of 15 foreign student-workers for fraudulently claiming to be working for companies that did not exist. In addition, as many as 1,100 foreign nationals participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program either will have their permits revoked or not [...]

The post The Notorious OPT Program Can’t Be Mended, So It Must Be Ended appeared first on ImmigrationReform.com.