Saturday, December 06, 2025 | 12:36 PM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

H-1B visa alternative OPT program allowing more new students to work in US

Schools, employers, students fret over possible changes to work-authorisation program under Trump administration

students, college, campus
premium

Photo: Shutterstock

Melissa Korn | WSJ
A work-authorisation program for foreign graduates of US colleges and universities has been expanding rapidly, new data show, potentially putting the program more squarely in the Trump administration’s crosshairs as it considers letting in fewer foreign workers.
 
The US government authorized 257,064 applications for its Optional Practical Training program in 2016, according to a new Pew Research Center report based on data the group received through a public-records request to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That is nearly double the number in 2014, and up from 79,877 in 2008.
 
Separate data from the Institute of International Education indicate that