ICE Uncovers 10,000 Foreign Students in STEM OPT Fraud, Calling It Nationwide

7 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 13

More than 10,000 foreign students tied to the top 25 STEM OPT employers were flagged by federal investigators, with Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons calling the findings only “the tip of the iceberg.”
HSI officers expanded oversight after tracing students to suspect employers and found alleged worksites in eight states that included empty buildings, locked offices, residential addresses and multiple companies claiming the same location.
Lyons said investigators also identified “phantom employees” — students who obtained OPT work authorization but never appeared at the jobs they claimed — and described the scheme as deliberate, coordinated and criminal.
The STEM OPT program lets F-1 visa holders work temporarily in jobs tied to their studies; Lyons said it grew from a limited training pathway into a system with hundreds of thousands of foreign students, alongside rising fraud.
Vice President JD Vance, whom Trump named the administration’s “fraud czar,” hailed the case as a win for a broader federal anti-fraud push and said the administration would not tolerate visa-system abuse.

How can legitimate international students and their employers avoid being targeted in this massive federal crackdown?

With thousands implicated in fraud, could the entire student work visa program now face elimination?