U.S. Reviews Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT Under America First Policy

(UNITED STATES) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday confirmed it has launched a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT programs, a move that could reshape work authorization used by international students after graduation.

DHS framed the review as part of an “America First” immigration approach and tied it to protecting U.S. workers and strengthening national security, signals that are already rippling through employers and universities that rely on the programs.

Optional Practical Training allows many F-1 students to work after completing their studies, and STEM OPT offers an extension for eligible science, technology, engineering and math graduates. DHS’s review points to possible changes in the scope and duration of practical training and to more intensive oversight.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the re-evaluation in a letter dated January 9, 2026, which Senator Eric Schmitt publicly released on February 26, 2026, through an official release from the Office of Senator Eric Schmitt.

“Consistent with President Trump’s direction and the administration’s America First immigration policy, DHS is reevaluating whether the current regulatory framework – including the scope and duration of practical training – appropriately serves U.S. labor market, tax, and national security interests and remains aligned with congressional intent,” Noem wrote.

DHS laid out a set of measurements for the review that reach beyond immigration processing and into labor market and compliance questions. Noem’s letter cited U.S. labor market effects, tax considerations, national security and program integrity, including fraud concerns.

The department also emphasized oversight through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, known as SEVP, as part of the practical training framework. That focus could translate into changes that students, schools and employers notice first as more scrutiny, more verification and longer adjudication timelines.

A re-evaluation is not itself a final rule, but the administration has paired the review with a rulemaking signal that suggests DHS is moving through a formal pipeline that can lead to policy or regulatory action.

Noem’s letter also highlighted the legal foundation for OPT as a point that could affect how quickly DHS can change the program. “[The program was] established through regulation rather than direct statutory text. provided for in DHS regulations at 8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(10),” she wrote.

By pointing to a regulatory basis rather than a statute passed by Congress, DHS signaled it believes it can amend practical training rules through administrative action. Noem described the policy goal in terms of labor protection and enforcement priorities.

“The rule would propose to amend existing practical training regulations to protect U.S. workers from being displaced by foreign nationals, address fraud and national security concerns, and enhance the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s (SEVP) capacity to oversee the program,” she wrote.

The administration has also left a public breadcrumb in the federal rulemaking tracker. A Unified Agenda entry titled “Practical Training” lists RIN 1653-AA97, indicating DHS is moving toward a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that could address OPT and the STEM extension, according to the DHS/USICE Unified Agenda entry.

That tracking entry, combined with internal adjudication steps described in DHS material, has amplified uncertainty among students and employers trying to forecast hiring and work authorization timelines. Even before any proposed rule is published, the administration has described operational measures that can affect how quickly cases move.

USCIS policy memorandums dated December 2, 2025, and January 1, 2026, placed an “adjudicative hold” on pending benefit applications, including Form I-765 for OPT, for individuals from approximately 39 “high-risk” countries listed under Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998.

The January 1, 2026 memorandum also mandated a “comprehensive re-review” of all benefit applications approved since January 20, 2021, for individuals from those countries. In practice, those steps can mean pauses, additional screening and longer waits for some applicants, including those seeking employment authorization documents tied to Optional Practical Training.

USCIS posted the January 1, 2026 memorandum as PM-602-0194, titled “Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications,” in a document available at the USCIS policy memo. The department described the hold as tied to high-risk-country screening.

The sequence of actions has mattered as much as the substance. DHS has pointed to multiple documents and tracking entries that, taken together, amount to a structured re-evaluation rather than a single isolated enforcement step.

Public-facing program information remains one place stakeholders watch for changes, but internal policy guidance and rulemaking pipeline signals can affect outcomes earlier, including through adjudication holds and review directives. That division helps explain why some applicants may experience new friction even before any new regulation is finalized.

In addition to rulemaking signals and screening holds, DHS’s language has drawn attention to program integrity themes that often show up in day-to-day compliance checks. The department has raised employer-employee relationship scrutiny, especially where third-party placement or consulting arrangements complicate supervision and worksite control.

For employers, that can translate into higher compliance risk and uncertainty about the long-term work authorization of international hires. For students, it can mean more questions about who directs the work, where it happens and whether the job fits the reporting and supervision structure associated with STEM OPT.

DHS’s rulemaking entry under RIN 1653-AA97 signals an NPRM that could significantly alter or restrict the current 12-month OPT and 24-month STEM extension. The administration has described potential directions that “may include” reduction in the total duration of the STEM extension, stricter reporting requirements for employers, and potential elimination of OPT for certain degree levels or fields.

Even as DHS emphasizes national security and integrity, the department has also tied the review to labor market and tax considerations. That framing has fueled a political argument that OPT functions as a labor supply channel that can undercut U.S. workers, while universities and many employers view it as a bridge from education to skilled employment.

Schmitt has cast the program in sharp terms, calling it a “cheap-labor pipeline for big business” that creates a “backdoor into the U.S. job market.” His office released Noem’s letter after he requested DHS commit to a review and re-evaluation of the program.

Scale is one reason the debate has intensified. According to the most recent data cited for 2024/25, there were approximately 294,253 OPT participants in the United States.

India accounted for 49% of participants, followed by China, the figures showed. That volume makes even modest administrative slowdowns consequential for employer onboarding calendars and for schools managing international student advising and compliance.

Official updates can surface across several channels, including the USCIS page that explains the STEM extension and related requirements. USCIS lists information at its STEM OPT Extension information page, which it shows as updated Jan 30, 2026.

DHS’s broader rulemaking direction appears in the Unified Agenda tracker under RIN 1653-AA97, while USCIS policy memorandums can shape adjudications sooner than a formal regulation. Congressional releases, like the one from Schmitt’s office, have also become a vehicle for publishing commitments and correspondence that help frame what the administration plans next.