The Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, which permits worldwide college students, together with these from India, to realize work expertise within the US after commencement, is dealing with scrutiny amid rising considerations over international employee programmes. The OPT programme has been criticised for being exploited to fill American jobs, with some arguing it is getting used as a long-term immigration pathway, bypassing conventional channels.
Originally designed for non permanent talent improvement, the OPT programme permits international college students on F-1 visas to work within the US for as much as three years if they’ve a STEM diploma. Critics declare it operates with out Congressional approval and competes with US graduates for job alternatives, calling it a “backdoor” entry into the US job market.
US Tech Workers group has opposed the programme and stated “The OPT programme is a visitor employee scheme disguised as an internship for international college students. Universities are promoting work permits as a substitute of training. Created illegally like DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), Trump ought to finish OPT to guard American faculty grads from unfair competitors,” on X.
In closing, the OPT program is a visitor employee scheme disguised as an internship for international college students. Universities are promoting work permits as a substitute of training. Created illegally like DACA, Trump ought to finish OPT to guard American faculty grads from unfair competitors.
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— U.S. Tech Workers (@USTechWorkers) December 30, 2024
Moreover, Indian college students depend on the programme for skilled alternatives and H-1B visas. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech) took the programme to court docket in 2023, declaring that it harms American employees. However, a decrease court docket’s ruling was upholded, which validated the programme.
The programme’s future is unsure, with some policymakers pushing for its elimination, whereas others defend it as important for attracting worldwide expertise and boosting the US economic system. Historically, each Republican and Democratic administrations have prolonged the OPT programme, citing its financial and cultural advantages.
Eliminating OPT may affect the attraction of US universities for worldwide college students, affecting the monetary and educational assets they supply. International college students contribute billions to the US economic system, making this a major consideration.