Congress quietly exempts foreign workers from Social Security taxes

What it does

This bill exempts F-1 visa holders participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) from paying Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) on their wages. Currently, F-1 students on OPT are treated as employees for tax purposes and must contribute to these programs; this bill removes that requirement, allowing them to keep more of their earnings while reducing the Social Security and Medicare trust funds' revenue.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a targeted tax exemption — it removes a class of workers (F-1 OPT participants) from payroll tax obligations. This is a narrow tax relief provision, not a broad policy reform, and it benefits a specific visa category at the expense of Social Security/Medicare revenue.

What the text implies

• Reduces Social Security and Medicare payroll tax revenue without corresponding benefit reductions or appropriations, potentially accelerating trust-fund depletion or requiring higher contributions from other workers.
• F-1 OPT workers remain eligible for Social Security benefits upon future employment or permanent residency, creating a scenario where they receive benefits without having contributed during OPT years.
• May incentivize employers to hire F-1 OPT workers over U.S. citizens or permanent residents, since the employer's FICA match is also eliminated for this group.
• The exemption applies only to OPT income; if an F-1 worker transitions to H-1B or other visa status, they re-enter the FICA system, creating administrative complexity and potential compliance gaps.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

F-1 OPT workers benefit directly through higher take-home pay and reduced tax burden. However, the bill reduces revenue to Social Security and Medicare trust funds without offsetting contributions or appropriations, potentially shifting costs to other taxpayers or reducing program solvency — a concrete public cost that offsets the private benefit to this narrow group.

Who stands to gain

• F-1 visa holders on Optional Practical Training
• employers hiring F-1 OPT workers (reduced payroll tax liability)

Named in the bill

F-1 visa holders, Optional Practical Training (OPT), Internal Revenue Code Section 3121(b)(19), Social Security Act Section 210(a)(19), Immigration and Nationality Act Section 101(a)(15)(F)(i), Social Security Administration, Medicare

Where it stands

• Sep 30, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Sep 30, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 1 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Tom Cotton, the sponsor, reported $1,292,206 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Slevin Advisory LLC O/b/o the Ifp Action — $10,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 8, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.