U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced a major nationwide investigation into alleged fraud involving the Optional Practical Training program, or OPT, potentially affecting more than 10,000 international students.

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons announced that federal investigators have identified more than 10,000 F-1 students who reported employment with what the agency considers highly suspicious employers. According to ICE, those students were connected to only the top 25 employers being examined, and federal officials have warned that the investigation may be only beginning.

For current and former F-1 students, this development should be taken seriously — particularly if OPT or STEM OPT was used to maintain immigration status before moving to H-1B status, another employment visa, or permanent residence.

What Is OPT?

Optional Practical Training allows eligible F-1 international students to obtain temporary employment related to their field of study.

Most qualifying students can receive up to 12 months of OPT employment authorization. Students with qualifying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics degrees may be eligible for an additional 24-month STEM OPT extension.

For many international graduates, OPT is an important bridge between graduation and longer-term immigration options such as H-1B employment.

ICE now alleges that portions of the system have been exploited through fake companies and nonexistent employment arrangements.

What Did ICE Investigators Find?

Federal investigators conducted worksite visits involving employers in Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Florida.

According to ICE officials and media reports, investigators encountered alleged employers operating from:

empty buildings;
locked offices where no employees appeared to be working;
residential homes supposedly employing large numbers of OPT workers;
mailbox or P.O. box addresses;
locations shared by multiple companies that apparently did not actually lease office space; and
businesses allegedly being managed from outside the United States.

Investigators also described so-called phantom employees — students who had employment authorization and were reported as working for a company but allegedly never actually performed legitimate work there.

In one particularly striking example reported by federal officials, approximately 500 students reportedly listed employment with a company that claimed to have only three workers.

Authorities have also said they are examining suspicious financial transactions, overseas management arrangements, shell companies, and other evidence that could point to coordinated fraud rather than isolated violations.

Why Is This Dangerous for F-1 Students?

An OPT employment authorization document does not give a student permission to create fictional employment simply to remain in the United States.

OPT employment must comply with the applicable immigration requirements, including the requirement that the work be related to the student’s field of study.

STEM OPT has additional requirements. The employer generally must participate in E-Verify, the student and employer must complete Form I-983, and the employer must provide a genuine training opportunity with appropriate supervision.

If ICE determines that employment was fictitious, a student could potentially face allegations that he or she violated F-1 status.

Depending on the facts, consequences could include problems with SEVIS records, loss of immigration status, termination of employment authorization, future visa denials, removal proceedings, or allegations of fraud or misrepresentation.

A Fake OPT Job Can Follow You Into an H-1B or Green Card Case

This investigation is particularly important for students who have already moved beyond OPT.

Do not assume that because your OPT period ended several years ago, the government will never look at it again.

USCIS can review your previous immigration history when you later apply for:

H-1B status;
an employment-based green card;
adjustment of status;
another nonimmigrant visa;
permanent residence through marriage; or
U.S. citizenship.

If the government discovers that an applicant previously claimed employment with a company that did not actually exist, it may ask whether the person properly maintained F-1 status and whether false information was provided to the government.

That can turn what appeared to be an old student-status issue into a serious problem in a later immigration case.

What If You Did Not Know the Employer Was Fraudulent?

Not every student associated with a suspicious company necessarily committed immigration fraud.

Some international students may have legitimately believed they were accepting employment from a real company.

Others may have been recruited by staffing agencies, consulting companies, third-party recruiters, or intermediaries without understanding that the employer’s business structure or OPT practices were questionable.

Intent matters.

There is an enormous difference between a student who knowingly paid a fake company to create employment records and a student who performed legitimate work but later discovers that the employer itself is under investigation.

If your former employer is being investigated, do not automatically assume that your immigration case is ruined. But you should have your records reviewed before filing your next immigration application.

OPT Students Should Preserve Their Evidence Now

Current and former OPT students should maintain evidence showing that their employment was real.

Useful documentation may include:

offer letters;
employment contracts;
pay stubs;
W-2 or tax records;
bank records showing salary payments;
Form I-983 for STEM OPT;
supervisor correspondence;
work emails;
projects and work product;
performance reviews;
time records;
proof of the physical or remote work location; and
evidence showing how the position related to the student’s degree.

If USCIS or ICE later questions the employment, these records may become extremely important.

Be Careful With Companies Selling OPT Employment

International students should be extremely cautious when a company promises to place them on payroll simply so they can maintain F-1 status.

Warning signs can include an employer asking the student to pay the company instead of receiving a genuine salary, no identifiable supervisor, no meaningful work assignments, a company with no real office or business operations, fabricated training plans, or an arrangement in which the student is listed as an employee but does not actually perform work.

If someone tells you that you can simply pay for an OPT job in order to stay legally in the United States, that is a major warning sign.

Federal Scrutiny of International Students Is Increasing

The OPT investigation is part of a much broader increase in federal scrutiny of international student programs in 2026.

The government has been examining not only whether students properly entered the United States to study, but whether they continue complying with F-1 requirements after graduation and whether employment used to maintain status is legitimate.

ICE has made clear that its investigation is continuing.

The more than 10,000 students already identified may therefore represent only the first group of cases reviewed.

Contact Shepelsky Law Group

If you are currently on OPT or STEM OPT, previously worked for an employer that you believe may have been questionable, or are preparing to move from F-1 status to H-1B status or permanent residence, now is the time to review your immigration history.

Do not wait until USCIS sends you a Request for Evidence or ICE questions whether your former employer was legitimate.

Shepelsky Law Group assists international students and other immigrants with complex immigration histories, employment-based immigration, adjustment of status, waivers, removal defense, and cases involving possible status violations or allegations of immigration fraud.

Call Shepelsky Law Group at (718) 769-6352 to schedule a consultation or book your consultation at www.ShepelskyLaw.com and review your immigration options before filing your next case.