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OPT fraud: 10,000 foreign students, including Indians, under ICE scanner
ICE identified 10,000 foreign students, including several from India, who allegedly misused the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. Investigators conducted site visits and found cases where beneficiaries were managed by India-based staff in violation of program rules, highlighting broader security and fraud risks. Officials warned that OPT’s growth has created a large, risky guest worker pipeline and pledged further action.
Why It Matters
The findings raise national security and integrity questions about the student visa work program and could influence policy oversight of OPT and transition to work visas like the H-1B.
Timeline
2 Events
Investigators describe abuses and statements on OPT program security
May 13, 2026
Federal investigators conducted site visits and identified cases where OPT beneficiaries were being 'managed' by employees based in India, violating a provision requiring U.S. training and direction. The investigation notes cases involving espionage, biological threats, intellectual property theft, visa and employment fraud, and scams targeting elderly Americans. Mr. Lyons said the OPT program, which was launched during the George W. Bush administration, had ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students, and that the fraud has grown as the program's size expanded. He described the fraud as a blatant attack on the goodwill of the American people and asserted that the nation will not tolerate security threats originating from the foreign student program.
ICE identifies 10,000 foreign students allegedly misusing OPT, including Indians
May 13, 2026
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it has identified 10,000 foreign students who claim to be working for highly suspect employers by misusing the Optional Practical Training (OPT) component of their visas, including several from India.