DHS Proposes $70,000 Fee to Curb International Student Work Program

WASHINGTON, The Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 7 proposed charging universities $70,000 for each international student they recommend for Optional Practical Training, a post-graduation work program that DHS says has become a vehicle for fraud and cheap-labor pipelines.

The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on Oct. 8 and reviewed by the American Council on Education, would set a $70,000 fee for a student's first OPT authorization and a $30,000 fee for any subsequent authorization, including the 24-month STEM extension available to graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students currently pay roughly $470 to apply for OPT permission to work, according to immigration law firm Berardi Immigration Law.

Under the proposal, the institution, not the student, would first have to pay the required fee, according to an analysis by Erickson Immigration Group. The university's Designated School Official would then verify payment in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System before USCIS could approve any OPT authorization. DHS acknowledged in the rulemaking that schools may pass the financial obligation to students or employers.

A DHS spokesperson, in a statement quoted by Time, said OPT "was never meant to be a back door into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a prize for those who game the system." DHS said the proposal is designed to deter fraud, strengthen oversight, and reduce reliance on OPT as a long-term employment pathway.

DHS estimated the rule could generate between $8.4 billion and $16.5 billion annually in fee payments, according to Erickson Immigration Group's review of the proposed rule. Approximately 194,000 OPT participants and 95,000 STEM OPT participants were active during 2024, DHS said.

The American Council on Education, joined by 18 other higher education associations, has urged DHS to withdraw a separate proposed rule that would impose a six-figure fee on H-1B petitions. ACE has not yet publicly announced a coordinated response specific to the OPT proposal, though the comment period runs through Nov. 9, according to the Federal Register notice.

More than 56 percent of Student and Exchange Visitor Program-certified institutions may qualify as small entities potentially affected by the OPT proposal, DHS acknowledged in the rulemaking, according to Erickson Immigration Group's analysis.

The proposal is part of a broader administration push on immigration and foreign labor. In September, Trump announced a separate $100,000 payment requirement affecting certain H-1B petitions involving workers outside the United States, subject to specified exceptions, according to Yahoo News.

If finalized, the rule would take effect 60 days after publication of a final rule. No effective date has been set. The comment deadline is Nov. 9.

Sources cited:
- American Council on Education (https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/DHS-Proposes-New-OPT-Fee.aspx)
- Erickson Immigration Group (https://eiglaw.com/dhs-proposes-70000-opt-fee-and-30000-stem-opt-fee-for-international-students/)
- Time (https://time.com/article/2026/10/08/international-student-training-opt-fee-work-trump-administration/)
- Berardi Immigration Law (https://berardiimmigrationlaw.com/dhs-proposes-a-70000-opt-fee-what-international-students-schools-and-employers-need-to-know/)
- Yahoo News (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/why-trump-wants-70-000-211000727.html)
- Federal Register (via ISS, University of Washington) (https://iss.washington.edu/dhs-proposes-new-opt-fees/)