ARLINGTON, Va., March 27, 2025 -- NumbersUSA announces its endorsement of the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act (H.R. 2315) as one of its "Great Solutions" for fixing immigration policies in the 119th Congress.
Introduced this week by Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09), H.R. 2315 would end the Optional Practical Training program (OPT) that provides incentives for employers to hire foreign students from U.S. colleges instead of American graduates for high-skill jobs.
With bills deemed to be Great Solutions, the non-partisan NumbersUSA organization invests major efforts in mobilizing its 8-million-member online advocacy network. And Great Solutions bills are weighted heavily in scoring each Member of Congress in NumbersUSA's Immigration-Reduction Grade Cards.
"Fewer than half of all STEM graduates find careers in their fields," NumbersUSA Founder Roy Beck says about work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. "Why should our government discourage employers from hiring our home-grown graduates?
"Most people have little understanding of this outrageous OPT program that was never even authorized by Congress. I encourage voters to watch NumbersUSA's short video that exposes the details of how OPT destroys the career dreams of hundreds of thousands of high-skilled American workers."
"The rise of artificial intelligence already threatens to reduce job opportunities for our American STEM graduates," Beck says. "Passage of the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act will encourage domestic recruitment of our best and brightest, making it easier for them to start their careers, not harder."
Employers save roughly 8 percent when they hire foreign students or graduates instead of U.S. workers because they don't have to pay FICA or Medicare taxes under the Optional Practical Training program (OPT).
The current OPT program was created by executive fiat and was never voted on by Congress.
Over half a million foreign workers are authorized for employment through OPT, making it one of the largest guest worker programs in the country.
OPT workers are not guaranteed a prevailing wage.
OPT costs Social Security and Medicare about $4 billion dollars every year.
About NumbersUSA
A nonpartisan 501(c)4 organization that since 2002 has mobilized voters – particularly its now more than 8 million online followers – to advocate for lower immigration levels to protect America's wage-earners, natural habitats, and local communities.
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