What is OPT?
Optional Practical Training
Policy Brief

International graduates of U.S. colleges and universities use OPT to live and work in the U.S. on a temporary basis

Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows international students who are studying at or have graduated from U.S. universities and colleges to remain in their F-1 student status and be authorized to work for a U.S. employer in their field of study.

Students in any field can apply for “post-completion” OPT for up to 12 months, while those with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) can get an additional two-year “STEM extension,” for a total of 36 months of work authorization and training. The Department of Homeland Security maintains a list of degree fields that qualify for the STEM extension.

With OPT, students apply their education in a real-world setting, developing their skills while also gaining work experience and building their professional networks, which in turn helps launch their careers. OPT is a critical component of U.S. higher education for international students, particularly in STEM, and factors significantly into students’ decisions to study in the U.S and to remain afterwards.

In FY 2023, 276,452 students were authorized for post-completion OPT while an additional 122,101 students were authorized for STEM OPT. Most OPT participants have degrees in technology, engineering, or business, and more than half have master’s degrees.

OPT is the primary way in which international graduates can gain work experience and begin their careers in the U.S.

OPT has become even more important as immigration options for international graduates have become increasingly inaccessible.

Over the last decade, the number of students receiving OPT work authorization has more than doubled, and work authorizations for STEM OPT have tripled, while the total international student population in the U.S. has only grown by about 15%. At the same time, international graduates with advanced degrees make up a greater share of the H-1B applicant pool, growing from 25% in 2013 to more than 50% by 2019 (archived link). This increased percentage shows that international students are filling important roles in the labor market and that employers want to hire U.S. graduates. However, it also demonstrates that the H-1B lottery is even more overcrowded and inaccessible than ever.

After their F-1 visa expires, graduates might look for an employer to sponsor them for a green card or a temporary skilled work visa like an H-1B visa. But the low annual supply of H-1B visas is consistently outstripped by demand. There are only 65,000 H-1B visas newly available each year, plus an additional 20,000 set aside specifically for applicants who hold an advanced degree from a U.S. college or university.

In FY 2024, USCIS selected 188,400 registrations out of 758,994 submitted—only 25%—that would have a chance to even apply for an H-1B.

Americans benefit when international graduates stay and work in the U.S.

When international students are allowed to work and contribute, everyone benefits. International students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs in the 2023-2024 academic year.

Experts have found that high numbers of OPT participants in a region are associated with higher earnings and lower unemployment for U.S. workers. By contrast, the Business Roundtable estimates that curbing OPT could cost 443,000 jobs over a decade, including 255,000 jobs held by U.S.-born workers. This same study posits that restricting OPT could also cause declines in hourly wages across all employees and in GDP.

The potential for hands-on training and a pathway to future employment is essential in attracting and retaining highly-skilled international students at a time when countries like Canada, Australia, China, and India (who offer their own post-graduation work programs) are competing to attract that talent for themselves. OPT also gives U.S. employers an opportunity to evaluate recent graduates as future employees and contributors (DHS notes that many OPT employers end up sponsoring students for visas).

The sectors with the highest share of OPT workers include universities and educational institutions; healthcare providers like hospitals; manufacturing, banking, and financial firms; and technology companies.

Maintaining the ability for talented individuals to live and work in the U.S. is particularly important in STEM-related fields, like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, where employers compete globally for the best talent in the world and often face a scarcity of qualified available workers, particularly as the U.S. is still in the early stages of modernizing and expanding STEM career pathways for U.S.-born students. American leadership in these critical and emerging industries, bolstered by effective immigration programs like OPT, is important for protecting national security and ensuring the U.S.’ strategic competitive advantage.

OPT is a valuable educational tool and a bridge to career paths in the U.S.

The opportunity for hands-on, practical training with world-class companies is an important aspect of the U.S. higher education system that helps recruit prospective students and adds tremendous value to their classroom education.

A 2022 FWD.us research study revealed that more than three-quarters of prospective international students want to stay and work in the U.S. after graduation, including 77% of students pursuing STEM and business degrees. Unfortunately, Congress’ failure to modernize our immigration system over the past three decades has left OPT as virtually the only bridge to post-graduation employment available for international graduates. Graduate students often use their time on OPT to support and perform basic science research and development at their universities. Other students will use STEM OPT to begin working directly for a U.S. employer. They are continuing to contribute after graduation and are building relationships with employers who could eventually sponsor them for longer-term immigration benefits.

A more recent FWD.us study focusing specifically on students considering advanced STEM degree programs at U.S. colleges and universities found that more prospective students were anticipating short-term stays in the U.S. after graduation—three years or fewer—compared to a couple years prior. We believe this shift is driven in part by prospective international students coming to better understand the lack of long-term pathways after graduation.

While this shift should raise some alarms, it also highlights the critically important role OPT and STEM OPT programs play in the race for global talent. So long as international students still want to study in the U.S., OPT and STEM OPT will enable them to gain valuable work experience after graduation, even if only for a limited period of time. This gives them the opportunity to contribute significantly to U.S. based research and development, and during that time, they may even find access to a more permanent pathway, boosting retention and allowing them to continue contributing to American industries and innovation for many years.