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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8972

OPT Fair Tax Act

Social Security Taxes for International Student Workers

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law
Unlikely to pass

This bill was introduced by one member and has not yet shown broad support or moved forward in the House.

Key Points

  • This bill changes tax rules for international students who stay in the U.S. to work after graduation through a program called Optional Practical Training.
  • Currently, these workers and their employers often do not have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes. This bill would end that exemption and require them to pay into these programs like most other U.S. workers.
  • The change would affect thousands of international graduates working in various jobs across the country.
  • The goal is to make the tax system more equal by removing a financial reason for companies to prefer hiring foreign graduates over American citizens.
  • If this bill becomes law, the new tax requirements would begin in the first month after it is signed.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
May 21, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

May 21, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

OPT Fair Tax Act

Bill NumberHR 8972
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.