Nearly 3 lakh Indian students in the US face the threat of having to leave the country once their studies get over after a bill was introduced in Congress to eliminate Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorisation.
OPT allows them to stay in the US for three and find a job after their graduation, The Economic Times reported.
The students of Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the ones facing the threat of leaving the US.
"The development has panicked existing F-1 and M-1 student visa holders who are frantically applying for jobs that can transition them an H-1B work visa, primarily sponsored by large US and Indian technology companies, " the report said quoting experts.
According to the Open Doors 2024 report, there were over 300,000 Indian students in the US in the 2023-24 academic year with close to a third of them eligible for OPT.
This bill comes amid a series of anti-immigrant moves, including mass deportations, by the administration as Donald Trump fulfils his election pledge to intensify measures that began in his first term.
It is understood that the bill imposes limits on the Optional Practical Training Program. (The program provides an eligible F-1 student visa holder temporary employment authorization before or after completion of the student's studies, or both.)
Under this bill, a non-US national ("alien" under federal law) may only participate in the program for four months with no extensions available, according to a government website. (Current rules generally allow an eligible individual to participate for up to one year with full-time employment; current rules also allow individuals with certain degrees to obtain a 24-month extension.)
The bill also bars certain individuals from participating in the program, specifically an individual (1) with a degree or working in a sensitive field, or (2) who is employed by or otherwise affiliated with an entity owned or controlled by the Communist Party of China.