Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2315

New Bill Proposes Ending Work Program for Over 200,000 International Student Graduates

Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2025

12 months ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill would eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. This program currently allows international students who graduate from U.S. colleges to stay and work in the United States for one to three years to gain experience in their field of study.
If this becomes law, international students on F-1 visas would be banned from getting work permits after they finish their degrees. Most of these graduates would likely have to leave the country shortly after finishing school instead of starting jobs at American companies.
The bill's sponsors aim to reduce competition for high-skilled jobs. They argue that ending this program will make it easier for American citizens who just graduated from college to find jobs in competitive fields like technology, science, and engineering.
This change would affect a large number of people and businesses. Every year, more than 200,000 international students use this program to work in the U.S., and many companies rely on these graduates to fill specialized roles.
The legislation also prevents the government from creating any similar programs in the future. Under this bill, only a specific new law passed by Congress could give international students the right to work after graduation again.

ImmigrationLabor EmploymentEducation

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Mar 25, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Mar 25, 2025

Introduced in House

Related News

2 articles

Forbes·10 months ago

Snubbing Trump Immigration Nominee Will End Student Practical Training

The Trump administration's nominee for USCIS has signaled a commitment to ending the OPT program. This aligns with legislative efforts like the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act, which seeks to eliminate the work authorization that keeps international talent in the U.S.

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The PIE News·12 months ago

Stakeholders call bluff on anti-OPT bill

Education stakeholders are pushing back against H.R. 2315, arguing that the likelihood of the bill passing is low despite the headlines. Critics note that OPT is a vital tool for U.S. competitiveness and that the program addresses high-skill labor shortages in STEM fields.

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