2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 13, 2026 03:34 PM IST
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has identified 10,000 foreign students, including several Indians, who it says are claiming to work for highly suspicious employers by allegedly exploiting the Optional Practical Training (OPT) provision of their student visas in an alleged fraud, reported news agency PTI.
OPT enables international students in the US on F-1 visas to work for 12 months after completing their studies, with some STEM graduates eligible for an extension of up to 24 months. The programme also serves as a route for students to move to employer-sponsored H-1B visas.
OPT has ‘become a magnet for fraud’
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the OPT component of the student visa programme has “become a magnet for fraud” and has been the subject of numerous investigations by the Department of Homeland Security.
“We’ve encountered cases involving espionage, biological threats, intellectual property theft, visa and employment fraud, and even scams targeting elderly Americans, all perpetrated by individuals abusing their status as students,” Lyons said.
“Our nation will not tolerate security threats originating from the foreign student programme,” Lyons said.
Site visits reveal violations
Lyons and other officials said federal investigators carried out site visits and discovered, among other irregularities, cases where OPT beneficiaries were being “managed” by employees located in India, contrary to programme rules requiring training and supervision to be based in the United States.
From training programme to ‘guest worker pipeline’
According to Lyons, the OPT programme, introduced during the administration of former President George W Bush, was initially intended to benefit only a few thousand students who would receive practical training and then return to their home countries.
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“Instead, OPT ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States. As the programme’s size has exploded, so has the fraud,” he said.
ICE warns against misuse
Lyons described the alleged abuse of OPT as a blatant attack on the goodwill of the American people, who, he said, generously allow foreign students access to the US education system.
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