Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2025

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.