The Trump administration is stepping up unannounced site inspections targeting foreign students working under the optional practical training (OPT) programme—especially those on the two-year STEM OPT extensions—with officers even knocking on doors at homes and student housing to verify compliance with federal rules. According to immigration attorneys, while site inspections are legal, it has sharply escalated in frequency. According to the latest Open Doors report for 2023-24, 3.3 lakh Indian students were studying in the US. As many as 97,556 were participating in OPT program (a significant number of which were in STEM-OPT). making them one of the most affected groups.. The fraud detection and national security (FDNS) unit of US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) has authori

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