The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows international students to work temporarily in jobs related to their field of study as part of their training.  If the  U.S. wants to continue to attract STEM students from abroad, OPT must be kept viable. It is part of America’s dominance over international STEM education — which is slipping away due to competition by Chinese and English language higher ed elsewhere.

Created by regulation, participation rose from 25,000 in 2007 to 300,000 by 2024–2025. These are the numbers of international students actively enrolled in OPT.

It often functions as a bridge into long-term immigration. During OPT, graduates can work for U.S. employers and seek sponsorship for visas such as the H-1B, which in turn may lead to a green card. Half of H-1B visa holders with U.S. degrees previously participated in OPT.

.The impact on American college enrollment is substantial. About 56% of graduates from 2006–2022 participated in OPT, with much higher participation among advanced degree holders and STEM graduates. 68% of STEM graduates and more than two-thirds of PhD and master’s graduates entered the program.

Here is a summary of the program as presented on the website of Babson College.

The rest of the world, notably by English speaking countries, has grown its international student population very fast. Canada had in 2015 about 350,000 international students. Today it has about one million international students.  Meanwhile, international student enrollment in the U.S. marginally increased from one million to about 1.2 million.  (Go here.)

The program should be viewed in the context of the high presence of international students on campus in STEM education.. Over half of graduate students in engineering and computer science in U.S. universities are international. 72% of full-time graduate students in computer and Information sciences are foreign-born. Until recently the U.S. dominated global higher education in some STEM subjects