What Happened?

If your college enrolls international students, it could soon owe the federal government $70,000 for every one of those students who applies to stay and work in the U.S. after graduating. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the proposed rule on Oct. 8, according to a Legis1 review of the Optional Practical Training fee proposal. ​

Optional Practical Training (OPT) lets international students on F-1 visas work in the U.S. after graduating. Under current rules, schools pay nothing when they recommend a student for OPT. The proposal would add two new fees:

  • Initial OPT fee: $70,000 per student, paid by the school before recommending a first work period.
  • Renewal fee: $30,000 each time the same school recommends the same student for a follow-on period, including the 24-month extension for science, technology, engineering and math graduates.

DHS warned that without the fees it may shut down OPT entirely.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

More than 294,250 students participated in OPT in the 2024-25 academic year, according to Politico. If a school has not paid before recommending a student, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would be barred from granting that student a work permit.

DHS estimates 2,478 schools would be regulated, and about 56 percent of them, roughly 1,389 institutions, are small entities. DHS considered but rejected an exemption for small institutions, saying fraud could continue if they were excluded.

DHS estimates the fees would generate between $8.4 billion and $16.5 billion in annual transfers, with a primary estimate of $12.4 billion per year.

Both Sides, Now

Opponents argue the fees are prohibitive. NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw said the proposal would add uncertainty for international students, and argued that OPT supports STEM labor needs, U.S. jobs, innovation and economic growth. The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration deputy director Zuzana C. Wootson said the fees could shrink international enrollment and cut off access to graduates in STEM, health care and research.

DHS says the fee would push schools to screen students more carefully, reducing fraudulent authorizations and "visa mill" activity. That fraud concern is documented: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 15 students in an OPT-related fraud operation in January 2025, saying the students claimed employment at companies that did not exist. In October 2025, ICE reported finding nonfunctional worksites at IT-services companies in Northern Virginia, including one address that supposedly employed dozens of OPT students from a private home.

The proposal was published by the Trump administration and does not require a congressional vote to take effect as a final rule; Congress could block or modify it through legislation, but no such bill has been introduced.

What Happens Next?

The public comment period closes Nov. 9; comments must be submitted through the federal rulemaking portal under docket ICEB-2026-0100. A separate deadline of Dec. 7 applies to comments on the proposal's paperwork requirements.

Once a final rule is published, a 60-day transition period would begin during which all OPT recommendations, including STEM extensions, would be subject to the $70,000 initial fee; the $30,000 renewal fee would apply only after that transition period closes.

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