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A high-ranking U.S. senator has reignited controversy over the rights of international students to work in the United States, calling for a complete halt to work authorizations for those on student visas.
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a strong appeal to the Department of Homeland Security on September 23. In a letter to Secretary Kristi Noem, Grassley claimed that allowing international students to work after graduation is undermining job opportunities for American workers and could be opening the door to foreign espionage.
Foreign student work authorisations not only displace American workers but also pose national security risks, he wrote, alleging that the program was being misused and should be terminated.
While the letter did not mention Optional Practical Training (OPT) by name, the target was clear. OPT is a program that allows international students to gain practical work experience in their field of study for up to three years after graduation, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
A Growing Program Under Scrutiny
According to the latest Open Doors data, nearly 250,000 international students participated in OPT during the 2023/24 academic year, about 22% of the total international student population in the U.S.
The program is widely seen as a major draw for students choosing to study in the U.S., with a recent NAFSA survey showing that over half of international graduate students would have opted out of a U.S. education if OPT were not available.
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Despite this, Senator Grassley argued that the program violates the original intent of student visas, which he said are meant strictly for education, not employment. He also cited concerns over technological espionage, referencing a 2020 report from the Department of Homeland Security that warned OPT could be exploited for intellectual property theft, particularly by individuals from rival nations like China.
The Data Tells a Different Story
Grassley’s claims come at a time when the U.S. is bracing for a significant labor shortage. A recent report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce projects a shortfall of 5.25 million college-educated workers by 2032, particularly in critical sectors such as healthcare, engineering, and education.
If we don’t ramp up educational attainment, 171 out of 561 key occupations will face persistent talent shortages,” warned the report’s lead economist, Dr. Nicole Smith.
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Far from displacing American workers, international students appear to be supporting them. NAFSA research suggests that in the 2023/24 academic year, international students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported over 378,000 jobs, roughly one U.S. job for every three international students.
Critics of Grassley’s position argue that cutting back programs like OPT could worsen labor shortages, especially in high-skill industries, and diminish the U.S.’s ability to compete globally for top talent.
Rising Tensions Over Immigration Policy
Grassley’s letter also coincides with broader moves by the Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party to tighten immigration pathways. Joseph Edlow, the new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has voiced intentions to end OPT entirely. Meanwhile, employers were stunned by a recent policy shift that raised H-1B visa application fees to $100,000, making it dramatically more expensive for companies to hire foreign talent.
Such measures are raising concerns across academia and industry that the U.S. is making itself less attractive to international talent at a time when it's needed most.
What’s at Stake?
With the promise of post-study work opportunities playing a central role in students’ decisions to study in the U.S., any changes to OPT could have a ripple effect across universities, research institutions, and the broader economy.
For now, the future of OPT hangs in the balance, caught between political rhetoric and the economic realities of a nation facing a growing skills gap.
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