Trump admin proposes $70,000 OPT fee for foreign students: Who actually pays it and what next

The Trump administration has proposed a $70,000 fee for international students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) in the US, a programme that allows foreign graduates to work in the United States.

“This rule proposes new fees for Optional Practical Training (OPT) to combat fraud, strengthen the integrity of the immigration system, and protect U.S. workers,” the Department of Homeland Security said in the proposal published on Thursday.

Under the proposal, an SEVP-certified educational institution would have to pay a one-time $70,000 fee for each F-1 student the first time the student is recommended for OPT.

A subsequent OPT recommendation for the same student would carry a $30,000 fee.

The agency said 194,554 F-1 students were granted employment authorisation documents for pre-completion or post-completion OPT and reported working for an employer in 2024, up from 160,627 in 2023.

DHS said it could potentially shut down OPT without additional fees because it lacks the resources to operate the programme while addressing fraud risks.

Who actually pays the $70,000?

Despite the headline-grabbing size of the fee, the proposed rule does not make the international student or the employer the party responsible for paying the US government.

The proposed regulation specifically says that an SEVP-certified educational institution would have to pay before its designated school official (DSO) could recommend the student for OPT in the government's Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS.

USCIS would not grant employment authorisation where the school had failed to pay the required fee.

However, the proposal does not appear to prevent institutions from seeking to recover the cost from students, employers or other sources through separate arrangements.

In its economic analysis, DHS contemplates cases in which institutions could receive funding from students, employers or other entities in connection with these transactions.

The proposal does not say that an international student must personally hand over $70,000, nor does it require an employer to pay the amount.

The regulatory obligation to make the payment to the government rests with the educational institution.

It leaves the question of how a school recovers the cost largely to the institution.

What changes for students?

OPT allows eligible F-1 students to obtain temporary employment related to their field of study.

The proposed rule says the initial $70,000 fee would apply whether the student participates in pre-completion or post-completion OPT.

The fee would be triggered when an SEVP-certified school recommends an F-1 student for OPT. A change of employer by itself would therefore not trigger the fee.

A subsequent OPT recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension, would attract the $30,000 fee if the student had already participated in OPT and the initial $70,000 fee had been paid.

For example, if a student first participates in pre-completion OPT and later obtains post-completion OPT, the school would have to pay $70,000 for the first recommendation and $30,000 for the subsequent recommendation.

Could the fee affect access to OPT?

DHS expects the steep cost to influence schools' decisions on whether to recommend students for OPT.

The department's economic analysis says institutions may be less willing to pay $70,000 for students who are eligible for only one year of OPT, while they may be more willing to pay for students eligible for the additional 24-month STEM OPT extension.

DHS estimates that annual fees collected under the proposal could range from $8.4 billion to $16.5 billion.

The department also expects the fee structure to discourage some students from using pre-completion OPT.

“Rather than paying the two fees and $100,000 in total, DHS assumes institutions and F-1 nonimmigrants will shift to postcompletion OPT to pay $70,000 for 12 months of OPT versus paying $100,000 when splitting the 12 months between pre-completion and post-completion OPT,” the proposal document stated.

What happens next?

DHS is seeking public comments before deciding whether and how to implement it. The department said comments on the proposal will be accepted for 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

If finalised, the fee provisions would take effect after a transition period.

Under the proposed transition provision, schools would pay $70,000 for OPT recommendations dated on or after 60 days after publication of the final rule; subsequent recommendations for students who had already paid the initial fee would then be subject to the $30,000 fee.