Dark clouds of trouble are once again gathering over the hopes of thousands of Indian students who dream of pursuing higher education, landing a job in their field of interest, and settling down in America. US President Donald Trump, who has been delivering one shock after another to those waiting years for H-1B visas and green cards, has now set his sights on foreign students with another harsh decision. The Trump administration is reportedly considering a proposal to impose a massive fee of as much as $100,000 (roughly ₹90-95 lakh) to obtain Optional Practical Training (OPT), which is granted after students complete their studies.
Typically, foreign students who go to the US on an F-1 visa benefit greatly from OPT, which allows them to gain practical work experience after completing their undergraduate or postgraduate studies at US universities. Students pursuing a Master’s in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields after their undergraduate degree get the opportunity to stay back and work under this program for 1 to 3 years. Students in other general courses are permitted to stay for one year. However, if this massive fee of a hundred thousand dollars comes into effect, obtaining OPT would become nearly impossible, forcing students to give up on their dreams.
Every year, thousands of students from India take out huge loans, amounting to lakhs of rupees, to enroll in Master’s programs in the US. It is during the OPT period following the completion of their postgraduate studies that talented candidates secure jobs with companies there. They work in their respective fields during the first year, and use the additional two-year window that follows to further improve their job prospects and get their employers to sponsor them for an H-1B visa. In a sense, OPT serves as the main bridge to obtaining an H-1B visa.
As part of fulfilling the “America First” promise made during his election campaign, Trump is moving swiftly on these decisions. It is believed that the core intent behind these harsh regulations is to reduce dependence on foreign workers and ensure that job opportunities go to local Americans instead. The US government is calculating that if such a hefty fee is imposed, a large number of foreign students will voluntarily give up their attempts to seek employment in America. Notably, the Trump administration had earlier attempted to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas as well, but a federal court blocked that move. Having faced a setback in the courts over fees imposed on foreign professionals, American media reports suggest that this time the administration has devised a new proposal targeting the OPT route for students instead, in an effort to get around that legal hurdle.
If these new rules do come into effect, Indian youth stand to lose the most. Indians currently make up a significant share of the foreign student population at US universities. For students from ordinary and middle-class Indian families — who have mortgaged assets and taken out bank loans back home, and arrived on American soil full of hope — paying an additional fee of $100,000 (about ₹95 lakh) is simply not feasible. Education experts warn that if job prospects dim, the number of Indian students headed to America could drop drastically in the future. This could also deal a severe blow to the revenue streams of American universities, which rely heavily on fees from Indian students — and many students are already looking at alternatives like Canada, Germany, and Australia. Thousands of Indian students currently completing their OPT or nearing the end of their studies in the US are deeply anxious over this proposed news. Should this decision actually be implemented, they find themselves in a state of utter uncertainty — unsure how they will repay the loans they’ve taken, and torn between returning to their home country or trying to find some other way to stay on.