Datanomics: US targets optional practical training amid H-1B visa issue

The United States (US) is undertaking surprise inspections and site checks of foreign students currently undergoing the optional practical training (OPT) programme in that country. This comes days after Republican senator Jim Banks introduced the ‘American Tech Workforce Act,’ which proposed an end to the OPT system. Indian students undergoing their OPT are keeping a close watch, as it allows international students on F-1 visas to work for a temporary period in the US. Many Indians, especially 

in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields, use OPT to gain practical experience before applying for an 

H-1B visa.

 

Indian students pursuing OPT doubled in 2023-24

 

The share of Indian students pursuing OPT has nearly doubled from 22.12 per cent in 2006-07 to over 40 per cent in 2023-24. Indians got 68.58 per cent of the H-1B visas issued by the US in the financial year 2023-24 (October-September). 

 

Indians made up nearly half of STEM-OPT in 2024

 

Nearly 48 per cent of the students getting authorisations to participate in 

STEM OPT in 2024 were Indians. 

 

Amazon employed largest cohort of students

 

Amazon employed the maximum students — at over 10,000 — purs­uing OPT or STEM-OPT in 2024, whereas Tata Cons­ultancy Services, the second-largest employer of H-1B visa holders in FY25,  employed only 851 students.