{"data":{"prismicArticle":{"uid":"us-senator-flags-h-1b-and-opt-abuse","tags":["NRI"],"first_publication_date":"2026-03-04T06:39:37+0000","last_publication_date":"2026-03-05T11:25:13+0000","data":{"third_party_url":null,"title":{"text":"US senator flags H-1B and OPT abuse"},"rating":null,"datetime":"2026-03-04T02:38:00+0000","img":{"url":"https://images.prismic.io/prad%2F50aa0543-f823-47d8-9d71-6901397b4e3c_h1b-visa.jpg?auto=format,compress&rect=0,67,1920,947&w=2028&h=1000"},"embed":{"embed_url":null,"thumbnail_url":null,"author_url":null,"title":null},"content":{"raw":[{"text":"A top Republican senator raised concerns over alleged abuse of employment-based visa programmes, including the H-1B system and Optional Practical Training (OPT), prompting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to confirm that it is reviewing the student work programme. "},{"text":"During a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Senator Eric Schmitt argued that the H-1B visa programme was increasingly being misused in ways that could disadvantage American workers."},{"text":"“For those listening, the H-1B programme was marketed as a programme to bring in the best and the brightest for jobs that we don’t have people for,” Schmitt said."},{"text":"“What’s happening is this abuse, is that American citizens are being displaced by cheaper, more obedient foreign labour.”"},{"text":"Schmitt also criticised the Optional Practical Training programme, which allows foreign students studying in the United States to work after completing their education."},{"text":"He said the programme had effectively become “visa mills for universities taking away opportunities for American students because they don’t have to pay taxes on the foreign labour for at least a year if you have this visa for OPT.”"},{"text":"According to the senator, the programme has seen widespread misuse."},{"text":"“The abuse has been pretty rampant,” Schmitt said."},{"text":"Schmitt told the committee that he had written to the Department of Homeland Security about both programmes and asked the agency to review the scope and duration of OPT."},{"text":"Responding during the hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the department had begun such a review."},{"text":"“Yes, we are. We’re continuing to do that review now, and it will be completed here in 2026,” Noem said."},{"text":"Schmitt asked whether the department would commit to completing the reevaluation within the year."},{"text":"“Yes, we are. We’re continuing to do that review now, and it will be completed here in 2026,” Noem replied."},{"text":"The exchange came during a wide-ranging hearing focused primarily on immigration enforcement, border security, and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security."},{"text":"Lawmakers questioned Noem on several aspects of immigration policy, including deportations, detention practices, and national security concerns."},{"text":"The discussion on H-1B visas and the OPT programme was one of the few portions of the hearing that addressed legal immigration pathways rather than enforcement actions against undocumented migrants."},{"text":"The Department of Homeland Security oversees immigration compliance and visa programmes through agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Citizenship and Immigration Services."}]}}},"relatedArticles":{"edges":[{"node":{"uid":"us-imposes-travel-ban-what-you-need-to-know","data":{"third_party_url":null,"title":{"text":"US Imposes 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