WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a proposed rule that would establish a $70,000 fee per F-1 student for initial Optional Practical Training (OPT) and a $30,000 fee for any subsequent OPT, including the 24-month extension for science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates. OPT is the temporary work authorisation, directly related to a student's field of study, that lets eligible foreign students work in the United States during or after their degree — up to 12 months at each education level, plus the STEM extension.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, proposed-rule announcement

Under the proposal, the legal duty to pay falls on the school, not directly on the student. An SEVP-certified school would have to pay before its designated school official could recommend the student for OPT in the federal SEVIS system, and before the student applies to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for work authorisation; USCIS would not grant authorisation if the fee had not been paid, and the collected fees would go to the U.S. Treasury. DHS says schools could pass the cost on to students, employers or their wider student body. Reports put the current student cost at around $500.

Source: LeadingAge, summary of the Federal Register proposal (Docket No. ICEB-2026-0100)

DHS says the fees are meant to combat fraud and abuse, strengthen the integrity of the immigration system and protect U.S. workers, pointing to Student and Exchange Visitor Program findings of exploitative worksites and 'pay-to-stay' schemes. A DHS spokesperson 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,' and that the department is 'upskilling OPT to require foreign students to justify their worth to employers.' Those are the department's stated reasons; employer and university groups quoted in coverage of the proposal warn it could disrupt the early-career talent pipeline.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, proposed-rule announcement

The scale is large. Roughly 418,000 students held OPT work authorisation in 2024, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data cited by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and many graduates use OPT as the bridge toward longer-term sponsorship such as the H-1B. SHRM notes the fee would have to be paid before a school official could even recommend a student, potentially adding a major cost before a graduate can start work.

Source: SHRM — Proposed OPT Fees May Disrupt International Talent Pipeline

Nothing is final yet. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on October 8, 2026, and DHS will accept public comments from October 8 through November 9; after the comment period closes, DHS says it will review properly submitted comments and may revise the rule. A separate Paperwork Reduction Act section carries a 60-day comment period. Until a final rule is issued, the $70,000 and $30,000 fees are not payable — students and schools reading headlines should treat this as a live proposal with a November 9 comment deadline, not a bill that has arrived.