ICE: More than 10,000 potential fraud cases related to student job program - POLITICO
ICE: More than 10,000 potential fraud cases related to student job program
Immigration hard-liners have argued that companies have used the Optional Practical Training to avoid hiring higher-paid American college graduates.
“Our nation will not tolerate security threats originating from the foreign student program,” ICE acting Director Todd Lyons said. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
By Eric Bazail-Eimil05/12/2026 01:42 PM EDT
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has identified more than 10,000 cases of potential fraud associated with a program that allows foreign students to extend their stay in the United States after graduating from college, ICE acting Director Todd Lyons told reporters Tuesday.
At a press conference with officials from ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Lyons outlined some of the findings of an agency investigation into fraud associated with the Optional Practical Training program. OPT allows foreign nationals who enter the United States on a student visa to work in the U.S. for 12, or in some cases 24, months. The program also allows students to transition to an H-1B visa sponsored by employers.
“Our nation will not tolerate security threats originating from the foreign student program,” Lyons said.
Lyons and other officials outlined how federal investigators conducted site visits, identifying among other things, cases where OPT beneficiaries were being “managed” by employees based in India, in violation of a provision of the program requiring U.S. training and direction. They also alleged some shell companies were committing financial fraud and violating U.S. law by helping the recent grads stay in the U.S. without sponsorship from a legitimate U.S. company.
The findings are likely to embolden those on the right calling for changes to these visa programs. Immigration hard-liners have long criticized OPT and other programs allowing certain students and high-skilled employees from around the world to enter the U.S. and work for U.S. firms, arguing that companies have used those programs to avoid hiring higher-paid American college graduates.
OPT was already in the administration’s line of sight. In 2025, the Trump administration launched a crackdown on foreign student visas, including OPT recipients, prompting a wave of litigation by students who claimed their student status was wrongfully terminated. And USCIS chief Joseph Edlow told lawmakers in 2025 he would move to end the program, which is not enshrined in federal law.
