Acting ICE director Todd Lyons told reporters Tuesday (May 11) that over 10,000 potential fraud cases of international students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) had been identified in recent investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
He said federal officials had encountered cases of espionage, biological threats, intellectual property theft, and scams targeting elderly Americans: “All perpetrated by individuals abusing their status as students”.
OPT allows international students to gain post-graduation work experience with a US employer for up to 12 months or 24 months for STEM students, while remaining in F-1 visa status.
The program was established in 1992. It was expanded under the Bush administration in 2008 and the Obama administration in 2016 to keep pace with the global race for talent – one that OPT advocates say has become “more urgent”.
But Lyons said the program had “ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working the United States. As the program size has exploded, so has the fraud.”
“We are uncovering evidence of organised fraud that spans national and international borders. This is not accidental. It is deliberate, coordinated and criminal.”
DHS will relentlessly investigate, disrupt and refer for prosecution anyone exploits our programs
Todd Lyons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
In 2024/25 participation in the workstream increased by 21%, totalling almost 295,000. The rise was largely driven by Indian students who make up nearly half of OPT participants, according to IIE Open Doors data.
“Our nation will not tolerate security threats originating from the foreign student program,” stated Lyons, promising to “relentlessly investigate” potential exploitation and step up vetting at overseas consular posts.
He and other DHS officials recounted “alarming” site visits to 18 OPT work sites in Texas, including finding OPT participants were allegedly being trained by managers in India – a violation of the program’s regulations.
One employee allegedly claimed to employ only three OPT workers, contrary to records of 500 international students employed at the firm.
DHS officials also claimed to find evidence of international financial fraud involving networks of bank accounts across various countries, as well as “pay-to-stay” visa fraud where “phoney” employers were charging students to maintain their visa status.
Lyons alleged thousands of students were “blatantly fabricating” information provided to DHS, warning the criminal, civil and immigration consequences for such acts are “severe and unavoidable”, and that more actions are “forthcoming”.
The press conference indicates OPT is once again under scrutiny from Trump hardliners who have long argued the program takes jobs away from American workers, suppresses opportunities for US graduates and acts as a cheap labour pipeline for large businesses.
Last year, the now USCIS director Joseph Edlow told policymakers he would move to end the program, among subsequent calls from senators supporting its removal.
Meanwhile, advocates of OPT have rallied around recent bipartisan efforts to codify the program in US law, emphasising its centrality to the value proposition of US higher education.
Miriam Felblum, CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance, said all instances of abuse of the program should be “fully addressed”, emphasising international students are “the most closely monitored nonimmigrant population in the US”.
“Cases of misuse should not be used to justify sweeping actions or rhetoric that creates confusion and fear among students, higher education institutions, and employers,” she said.
Uncertainty about the future of the work stream has been a key driver of weakening student interest in the US, with 20% of colleges reporting a decline in international enrolments this year, according to a new sector survey.
Stakeholders warn this trend will be exacerbated if OPT is restricted, after 54% of current international students indicated they would not have enrolled in US institutions if OPT had been rescinded.
Lyons’ comments come at a turbulent time for international students and educators, anticipating the imminent elimination of duration of status – which would require students to file for an extension of their F-1 visa to participate in OPT.
