The U.S. government proposed on Wednesday a new fee of $70,000 for the first recommendation made by an educational institution for a foreign student with an F-1 visa to access the program that allows them to work temporarily in the country in a job related to their studies. This measure could reshape one of the main pathways used by international graduates to enter the U.S. labor market.
The proposal was announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is still not in effect.
The plan establishes a fee of $70,000 for the initial access to Optional Practical Training (OPT) and $30,000 for each subsequent recommendation.
A key point is that the student would not have to pay those amounts directly to the U.S. government. However, educational institutions could pass the cost on to the students themselves or to their employers.
According to the text of the proposal published in the Federal Register, the educational institutions certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) would be required to make the payment before their designated school official recommends the student for OPT in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
Without that prior payment, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would not be able to grant the employment authorization for the student.
For Cuban students and others from Latin American countries studying in the United States on an F-1 visa, the significance of the proposal lies precisely in that connection between university and access to employment: although the responsibility would legally fall on the institution, the school would have to decide whether it is willing to bear that expense, transfer it to the student, or seek alternative ways to finance it, which could significantly hinder access to the program.
The DHS itself acknowledges in its economic analysis that the new fees represent a significant increase in the cost of participating in OPT and STEM OPT, and it admits that it cannot determine with certainty how much participation would decline if the rule ultimately goes into effect.
The OPT allows certain international students with an F-1 visa to obtain temporary authorization to work in the United States in an area directly related to their field of study.
Although it is mainly associated with the period after graduation, there is also a pre-completion OPT. Therefore, technically, the $70,000 would not be limited exclusively to graduates: it would apply to the first recommendation of any OPT modality for that student.
Currently, an eligible student can receive up to 12 months of OPT for each educational level. Those who obtain certain degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) may also apply for a 24-month extension, according to the rules of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The proposal confirms that this STEM extension would also be covered by the new scheme. After the corresponding $70,000 has been paid for the first OPT, a subsequent recommendation —including a STEM extension— would have a fee of $30,000.
This means that a university could end up paying 100,000 dollars for the same student who first uses the 12 months of OPT following graduation and then obtains a 24-month STEM extension.
In fact, the official analysis explicitly uses that scenario: it compares the $70,000 corresponding to the first year of OPT with a total of $100,000 when the two additional years of STEM OPT are included.
The $30,000 fee would not be reserved solely for STEM. The text states that it would apply to any subsequent OPT after the student has used their first authorization, whether it's another pre-graduation OPT, a post-graduation OPT, or a STEM extension.
The program is especially relevant for foreign students looking to gain professional experience in the United States after completing their degrees.
For some graduates, it can also serve as a transition period while an employer processes an H-1B visa.
The regulations themselves include the so-called cap-gap (the time extension between the end of OPT and the start of an H-1B visa), which, under certain circumstances, allows F-1 visa students to temporarily maintain their immigration status and, in some cases, continue working while awaiting the start of a timely requested H-1B.
This does not mean, however, that the OPT grants a permanent work visa or residency. The and permanent residency based on employment requires a separate process.
The DHS justified the proposal by citing the existence of fraud and abuses detected by the SEVP, including educational institutions, school officials, employers, and students who allegedly participated in schemes designed to exploit current regulations.
“Optional Practical Training was never intended to be a backdoor into the U.S. workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a reward for those who manipulate the system,” a DHS spokesperson stated in the official announcement.
The agency argues that charging the new amounts would force universities to be more selective when recommending students and would help protect American workers.
Organizations connected to international education, however, have warned that dramatically raising the OPT fee could reduce the appeal of the United States for highly skilled students and workers.
The measure is still in the regulatory proposal phase and does not currently change the existing conditions of the OPT. The document is scheduled to be officially published in the Federal Register on Thursday, October 8.
There is also an important clarification regarding the deadlines: the general period for submitting comments on the rule is 30 days, not 60. The DHS indicated that it will accept comments from October 8 to November 9, 2026. The 60-day deadline specifically pertains to the section related to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Comments on the general proposal should be submitted through Regulations.gov, using the docket ICEB-2026-0100. After this period closes, DHS will review the received comments and may amend the text before publishing a final rule.
The proposal also comes at a time of other changes in migration costs. Starting from October 16, new USCIS fees for various immigration processes will take effect, amidst a broader policy of changes in legal and labor immigration procedures.
Esta propuesta podría cambiar las opciones laborales de miles de estudiantes extranjeros en EE.UU. Sigue todos los detalles y novedades en nuestra sección de
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