DHS proposes $70,000 OPT fee as international students and universities face uncertainty

The proposal would put the initial payment on schools

The Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule on October 8 that would require a Student and Exchange Visitor Program-certified school to pay $70,000 before recommending an F-1 student for Optional Practical Training for the first time. A later recommendation—including a STEM OPT extension—would carry a $30,000 fee. The payment would be tied to the school’s recommendation, not to a change of employer, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could not approve work authorization without proof of payment. [1][2][3]

This is a notice of proposed rulemaking, not a fee now in effect. DHS proposes applying the system only to recommendations dated on or after a final rule takes effect, with a 60-day transition after any final rule is published. Students already working under approved OPT, already approved before that effective date, or holding an earlier school recommendation would not be covered by the initial transition provision, although a later OPT request could trigger a fee. [1][4]

Who could ultimately bear the cost is unresolved

The proposed regulation assigns payment to the educational institution. DHS’s economic analysis nevertheless contemplates schools obtaining additional funding and acknowledges that institutions will decide whether to make recommendations. Reuters and AP emphasized the likely consequences for students, while Inside Higher Ed stressed the rule’s formal allocation to schools. No reviewed source established how universities would distribute the cost among institutional budgets, employers, students or the wider student body. [1][2][3][4]

OPT generally permits work related to a student’s field for up to 12 months, with a possible 24-month extension for eligible science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates. DHS’s own model assumes institutions may become more selective and estimates annual fee transfers between $8.4 billion and $16.5 billion, with a primary estimate of $12.4 billion. Those are agency projections under the proposal, not amounts already collected or an independent forecast of how many students would lose access. [1][3][4]

DHS cites fraud and worker protection; universities dispute the method

DHS says the fees would deter fraud, discourage use of OPT to avoid H-1B costs and protect U.S. workers by giving schools a financial stake in reviewing training placements. Those are the agency’s policy claims. The notice does not establish that every OPT placement is abusive, and its estimates of suspicious activity do not by themselves prove wrongdoing by any particular student, employer or institution. [1][2]

Higher-education and industry groups quoted by AP and Inside Higher Ed said the proposal could price students out of practical training, weaken universities’ global competitiveness and disrupt employers’ access to graduates. Nearly 290,000 students were authorized for OPT or STEM OPT in 2024, according to federal data cited by Inside Higher Ed. Participation after any final rule remains unknowable because schools, students, employers and courts have not yet responded to a completed policy. [3][4]

Indian coverage highlights exposure, while the official deadlines need care

Hindustan’s Hindi-language report described the proposed $70,000 amount as roughly 68 lakh rupees and focused on Indian students considering U.S. study and post-graduation work. The Indian currency conversion and impact framing are useful for that audience, but the legal obligations and effective-date details were checked against the Federal Register notice rather than inferred from the local report. [5][1][2]

The notice states that general comments on the rule are due November 9, 2026, while comments on its Paperwork Reduction Act information collection are due December 7. The FederalRegister.gov page also displays a 60-day portal countdown, and some coverage described a 60-day comment period without separating the two tracks. Readers submitting a comment should use docket ICEB-2026-0100 and follow the current official instructions for the type of comment they are filing. [1][2][3]

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