NEW DELHI,1 May 2026 : For years, Indian students going to America have followed a set path: F-1 student visa, then OPT, and later an H-1B visa. That may soon be off the table, thanks to 35 American lawmakers.
For thousands of Indian students and families in Bengaluru and Gurugram who have pledged assets for master’s degrees in America, the US political climate in 2026 is crucial. Most follow a path: first the F-1 student visa, then Optional Practical Training (OPT), and later an H-1B work visa, aiming for a green card and citizenship. This process has let generations of Indians study, work, and settle in the US.
Yet, this article argues that a US-based group wants to break this F-1-to-H-1B-to-green-card path. That would create a new reality for Indian talent. While the media focuses on H-1B quota cuts, about 35 members of the House Freedom Caucus are more influential.
This coalition is led by Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona and Eli Crane, and they just wrote the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026. The bill suggests major changes: a three-year pause on new H-1B visas and a sharp cut in the annual cap from 65,000 (plus 20,000 for advanced degrees) to just 25,000. It replaces the lottery with a wage-based allocation, sets a minimum salary of $200,000, and bans third-party staffing or ‘body shops’ (a model where agencies supply IT or specialised professionals to companies, usually on a temporary basis).
It also forbids H-4 dependent employment and prevents H-1B holders from moving to green cards, making the visa strictly temporary. Importantly, the bill would also end Optional Practical Training (OPT) entirely, including the STEM OPT extension. This marks a significant turning point for Indian students’ pathways to the US workforce.
The Freedom Caucus is an invitation-only group of about 40 to 45 Republican lawmakers. It is the most organised restrictionist force in American politics today. To understand their impact, think of them as an insurgent group within a party. They are tactically ruthless and refuse to compromise, even with their own leaders.
Their tactics have caused several government shutdowns. Under their influence, high-skilled immigration policy has moved from reform to elimination. They are loyal not to the US Chamber of Commerce or Silicon Valley’s technology giants, but to a protectionist vision of the American labour market.
The first motivation is economic nationalism. It is based on a grievance that most Indian observers may not be aware of. Under US law, international students on OPT and their employers are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes.
This gives employers who hire foreign graduates a 15.3% cost advantage over those hiring American graduates. Lawmakers like Byron Donalds of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona say the US government taxes companies for hiring American citizens but rewards them for hiring foreigners. With high student debt and stagnant wages for entry-level workers, this argument is powerful. It avoids the traditional merit debate.
The second motivation is a constitutional objection to OPT’s origin. Congress never explicitly approved the programme. Instead, it grew out of administrative interpretations and executive regulations during the Bush and Obama years. For the Republican Party’s legalist wing, including lawmakers like Chip Roy of Texas and Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, OPT was an executive branch mistake.
Their effort to end it aims to restore Congress’s authority. They argue that such a large guest-worker programme should require a direct legislative vote.
