‘May have to leave US immediately…’: Wave of panic as US bill threatens work visas for Indian students

Students in the US from India and other nations studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are now at risk of having to leave the country after finishing their studies.

This follows the introduction of a bill in Congress aimed at removing the Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorisation, which currently permits them to stay in the US for up to three years post-graduation to find employment, as reported by the Economic Times.

The recent development has caused panic among current F-1 and M-1 student visa holders, who are urgently applying for jobs that could help them transition to an H-1B work visa, primarily sponsored by major US and Indian tech companies, according to experts.

The Open Doors 2024 report reveals that there were over 300,000 Indian students in the US during the 2023-24 academic year, with nearly a third of them eligible for OPT.

Economic Times quoted, Poorvi Chothani of LawQuest, an immigration law firm headquartered in Florida, as saying, “OPT allows students to find jobs in the US for one year after they graduate and may be extended for another two years provided you are a STEM graduate and are working with a qualified US employer.”

“If the bill goes through, OPT could end abruptly without an option to transition to another work visa. Students may have to leave the US immediately.” Currently, non-STEM graduates have to leave a year after completing, ET reported Chothani as saying.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, international students at US colleges and universities contributed a record $43.8 billion to the country's economy and helped support 378,175 jobs, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

ET reported earlier that Indian students in the US are canceling plans to return home during summer breaks due to concerns that re-entry could be challenging. Cornell, Columbia, and Yale have unofficially advised international students not to leave the country.

While the US remains the top destination for Indian students studying abroad, tightening visa scrutiny under the Trump administration has led many to consider alternatives like Canada and Europe.

ET reported citing experts that a 20% increase in Indian applications to non-US destinations for the 2025 and 2026 academic years.