The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday made a proposal to charge American universities a $70,000 fee for every international student they nominate to work in the US, as part of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.
The OPT program presently allows thousands of foreign graduates of US universities to work in America for a period of 12 months, which can be extended by a further 24 months for graduates of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs. According to the proposed rule, a further $30,000 fee would be levied on universities for any student seeking a subsequent OPT period, which includes the 24-month STEM extension.
The DHS has defended the proposed rule, which will be opened for public comment for a period of 30 days, citing the need to combat visa fraud and protect American workers from foreign competition. The Donald Trump administration has argued that it may shut down the OPT program altogether if the fee is not imposed.
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{{/usCountry}}The proposed fee would significantly impact the ability of foreign students - including over 350,000 Indian students presently in the US - to work in the US after graduation as their universities could pass the fees onto the students or their proposed employers. The OPT program served as a pathway for thousands of Indian graduates to work in and eventually immigrate to America through H-1Bs and other employment based visas.
"DHS acknowledges that the schools may pass the financial obligation of this proposed fee onto F-1 nonimmigrant students, all students, or employers," the proposed rule reads, while also acknowledging that the OPT fee would likely lead to a "smaller pool" of applicants to the program as schools would have to be more selective in deciding which students were qualified to participate in the OPT program.
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DHS has also sought public comment on an alternative under which universities would pay the full $70,000 again for a student's first OPT period at each new degree level, for example, once after a bachelor's degree and again after a master's.
According to figures cited by DHS, 165,524 students were using the OPT program's 24-month STEM extension in 2024. This figure, the proposed rule notes, is almost twice the 85,000 H-1B visas made available by the US government each fiscal year.
"Currently, the practical training programs have become a channel for F-1 nonimmigrant students to circumvent employment visa caps and obtain extended employment in the United States," DHS argued.
Due to the sheer scale of applicants, the agency also argued that the program had been flooded with applicants seeking to exploit it for improper purposes.
"Most recently, DHS announced an investigation that identified more than 10,000 F-1 nonimmigrant students who were engaged in OPT and were working for highly suspect employers," the proposed rule notes.
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The Trump administration also linked the OPT program to the politically controversial H-1B program, which has been a major target for the administration. The agency noted that the proposed OPT fee would be comparable to the Trump administration's $100,000 visa fee on H-1B visa applications, although US courts blocked this earlier this year.
While acknowledging the fee's likely impact on the ability of thousands of foreign students to seek employment in the US, the Trump administration noted that F-1 student visa was never intended to provide a pathway to employment in the US.
"The national interest in protecting American workers and program integrity far outweighs any reliance interests of foreign students, employers (including state and government employers), or educational institutions," the proposed rule notes.
The Department of Homeland Security primary estimate holds that the US government would collect $109.4 billion in fees over 10 years through this rule.
To be sure, the proposed rule has not yet been finalised. The general public will be given 30 days to submit comments which will be considered by DHS. If finalised, the rule would begin to apply 60 days after its final version is published. The fee would also apply only to students applying for the OPT program after the rule goes into effect.