Cracking American dream: Could ending OPT trigger the next big tech talent crisis in the US?

The United States has long cherished and held the badge of technological dominance. From presidential podiums to Silicon Valley boardrooms, the rhetoric has been pristine: America builds, America leads, America wins. But beneath the polished myth lies a conveyor belt of global talent that keeps the country’s tech engine humming, a pipeline that begins not in Boston or Seattle, but in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai. That fragile pipeline is now in political crosshairs. The Trump administration is preparing new rules that could significantly tighten, and potentially upend, the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme for international students, reported Forbes. These proposed regulations, listed on the Department of Homeland Security’s regulatory agenda, aim to impose stricter eligib