The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has started terminating F-1 visa statuses once again, this time for being late in reporting jobs under OPT (Optional Practical Training), a postgraduate work program.
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According to the latest reports, DHS is quietly terminating student records if they delay reporting employment updates. That means loss of status, job, and even the threat of deportation.
This follows just last month when DHS was forced to reverse mass SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) terminations after getting slammed in court. But instead of backing off for good, they’re back with a new tactic targeting innocent students.
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Immigration lawyers are calling this out. One even said it’s a way to block legal immigrants using technicalities.
OPT is a lifeline for students to get work in the US up to a year after graduation, since finding H-1B work visa sponsors is getting difficult every year. It has many tiny rules that a student might miss, and that is what DHS is prancing on; trying to trap students in some legal labyrinth.
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Will the court step in to stop this cruel crackdown once again? How many more times will students have to fight the authorities before they can focus on their careers? All these questions loom over students as they live in constant fear in Trump’s America.
