Gosar Reintroduces Bill to Terminate Optional Practical Training Program

Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has reintroduced legislation to terminate the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program.

As Rep. Gosar explained, the OPT is a "guest worker" program that allows up to 100,000 foreign students in the United States to work in the country after graduation for a limited time. Initially allowing for one year, the Obama Administration expanded the visa's time to three years.

The Pew Research Center estimated that 1.5 million foreign students benefited from the program between 2004 and 2016, a 400% increase since the extension began in 2008.

However, Rep. Gosar also noted that these workers are exempt from payroll taxes, making them more cost-effective company hires. Furthermore, the OTP system effectively serves as a backdoor to H-1B expansion.

"The OPT program completely undercuts American workers, particularly higher-skilled workers and recent college graduates, by giving employers a tax incentive to hire inexpensive, foreign labor under the guise of student training," the Arizona Congressman said in his press release, further noting that the OPT was "Never authorized by Congress" and also "circumvents the H-1B visa cap set by Congress by allowing over 100,000 aliens admitted into our country on student visas to continue working in the United States for another three years after completing their academic studies."

As a result, Gosar further skewered the OPT, saying it "incentivizes greedy businesses to fire Americans and replace them with inexpensive foreign labor by avoiding having to pay FICA and Medicare payroll taxes and other employee benefits."

"The OPT program completely abandons young Americans who have spent years and tens of thousands of dollars pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics only to be pushed out of those fields by cheap foreigners," he continued, concluding, "Our government should not be incentivizing foreign employees over Americans. This badly flawed government program should be eliminated."

Nevertheless, the bill does not revoke the F-1 student visa program; it only prevents international students from staying longer and removes the incentive for companies to hire international students over American students.