HR 8972 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include optional practical training for F-1 visa holders as employment for purposes of taxes under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act and the Social Security Act.
Summary
This bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code and the Social Security Act to require F-1 visa holders participating in optional practical training to pay employment taxes. Currently, F-1 visa holders are exempt from Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes and Social Security Act employment taxes. The bill removes this exemption for F-1 visa holders engaged in optional practical training, making them subject to these taxes. The change would be effective for services performed in calendar months beginning after the bill's enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Actions (2)
- May 21, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. · house
- May 21, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2026
Mr. Grothman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include optional practical training for F-1 visa holders as employment for purposes of taxes under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act and the Social Security Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “OPT Fair Tax Act”.
SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR F-1 VISA HOLDERS AS EMPLOYMENT.
(a) Federal Insurance Contribution Act.—Section 3121(b)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking “as the case may be” and inserting “as the case may be, except that this paragraph shall not apply to service performed by an alien present in the United States as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i)) who is participating in optional practical training”.
(b) Social Security Act.—Section 210(a)(19) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 410(a)(19)) is amended by striking “as the case may be” and inserting “as the case may be, except that this paragraph shall not apply to service performed by an alien present in the United States as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i)) who is participating in optional practical training”.
(c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to services performed in calendar months beginning after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>
Comments