During the presidential campaign before the 2024 election, Donald Trump said he would staple a Green Card to the diplomas so that foreign students could stay in the US and work after finishing their education. It has been a long way since that time, and now that the administration is proposing a $100K fee for Optional Practical Training, the distance between what Trump had promised and what his administration is doing or planning to do has never been greater.
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“What I want to do, and what I will do, is — you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” Trump had said during an interview with “The All-In Podcast" in June 2024.
Experts said if the administration imposes a $100K fee on OPT, foreign students will not choose US schools and universities. "The ability to work for a year after graduation is a major reason students pick US schools. It allows them to get real US work experience that will look good on their resume wherever they end up building their career," attorney Adrian Pandev said.
"F-1 OPT is also the only immigration status in which a young entrepreneur can launch a company in their field of study without having to invest significant capital or meet other difficult requirements. It gives a student 1 year to build something truly meaningful. I have seen so many great companies start this way. We sure have come a long way from 'green cards stapled to diplomas'..." Pandev said.
