DHS Proposes a $70,000 OPT Fee: What International Students, Schools, and Employers Need to Know

Written October 7, 2026. Reviewed by Rosanna Berardi, Esq.

TLDR:

• The Department of Homeland Security has proposed charging $70,000 the first time an international student uses Optional Practical Training (OPT), plus $30,000 for every later authorization, including the STEM extension.
• Today, the filing fee is $470.
• The proposal is not in effect, and the current OPT process still applies.
• Students, schools, and employers should watch the rulemaking closely, plan ahead, and expect a court challenge.

For hundreds of thousands of international students, Optional Practical Training is the bridge between a U.S. degree and a U.S. career. It is often the reason they chose an American university over one in Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia.

On October 7, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security proposed turning that bridge into a toll road. Under the proposal, a student’s first OPT authorization would cost $70,000, and each one after that would cost $30,000. That is roughly 150 times the current filing fee.

If you are an international student, a parent paying tuition, a university administrator, or an employer who hires recent graduates, this proposal affects you. Here is what it says, what it would mean, and what happens next.

What Is OPT, and How Does It Work Today?

Optional Practical Training is a work authorization available to students in F-1 status. It allows them to work in a job directly related to their field of study for up to 12 months, either during their studies or after they graduate.

Students who earn degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) can apply for a 24-month STEM extension. That means a STEM graduate can work in the United States for up to three years on OPT.

The current process is straightforward. The student’s school recommends them for OPT through its Designated School Official, and the student then files for an Employment Authorization Document (a work permit) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The filing fee is $470.

What DHS Is Proposing

The proposed rule would add a new fee on top of the existing process:

• $70,000 for a student’s first OPT authorization
• $30,000 for each later authorization, including the 24-month STEM extension

Under this structure, a STEM graduate who uses both initial OPT and the STEM extension would face $100,000 in fees.

The proposal would also require schools to pay. That is a significant shift. Colleges and universities would no longer just recommend eligible students for OPT. They would have a direct financial stake in whether students use the program, which effectively makes them immigration gatekeepers.

DHS is presenting the fee as a way to prevent fraud and protect American jobs.

Why This Proposal Misses the Mark

International students are already among the most heavily vetted visitors. Fraud prevention is a legitimate goal. But international students are among the most closely screened groups entering the United States.

Before a student ever arrives, the State Department reviews their application and interviews them for a visa. U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspects them at the border. Once they are here, Immigration and Customs Enforcement monitors them through SEVIS, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, for their entire stay. Their schools carry significant compliance duties too, from reporting enrollment to tracking OPT employment.

A $70,000 fee does not add a new layer of screening. It simply prices out students who have already passed every existing check.

International students strengthen the U.S. economy

International students contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year through tuition, housing, and spending in their communities. Many graduates fill critical labor gaps in fields like technology, engineering, and health care, where U.S. employers already struggle to hire.

President Trump was elected to fix immigration. But most Americans were not asking for policies that push out law-abiding, highly educated graduates trained at American universities. These are students who follow the rules, and OPT is often the first step toward the high-skilled careers the country says it wants to keep here.

Who This Affects

International Students and Their Families

For most students, a $70,000 fee would put OPT out of reach. Families planning for a U.S. education will need to factor in the possibility that post-graduation work may cost more than a year of tuition. Some students may choose to study in other countries instead.

Colleges and Universities

Schools would face new costs and new pressure. They would also take on a role that looks less like education and more like immigration enforcement. International enrollment, which many institutions depend on, could drop.

U.S. Employers

Many employers recruit through OPT and later sponsor strong performers for H-1B visas. If OPT becomes prohibitively expensive, that talent pipeline narrows. Employers in technology, engineering, research, and health care are likely to feel it first.

Will This Hold Up in Court?

We expect this rule to be challenged in court, just as the $100,000 H-1B fee was.

That fee was imposed by presidential proclamation in September 2025. On June 8, 2026, a federal judge in Massachusetts struck it down, finding it was effectively a tax that only Congress can impose. On July 24, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit declined to reinstate the fee while the government’s appeal moves forward.

The OPT fee case will look different procedurally. The H-1B fee came through a proclamation. DHS is putting the OPT fee through formal notice-and-comment rulemaking, which gives the public a chance to weigh in before the rule becomes final. That removes one of the arguments that sank the H-1B fee.

It does not remove the central one. A fee designed to raise billions of dollars and discourage people from using a program looks a lot like a tax. And under the Constitution, taxes are Congress’s job.

This fight will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court.

What You Can Do Now

The proposal is not final, and no new fee is being collected. Here is what this typically means in practice:

• Current students: Keep following the existing OPT rules and timelines. If you are eligible to apply now, it is worth talking with your Designated School Official and an immigration attorney about your timing.
• STEM graduates: Track your OPT and STEM extension deadlines carefully. Any change to the rule could affect when and how you file.
• Schools: Review how the proposed school payment requirement would affect your international programs and budget. Consider participating in the public comment process.
• Employers: Identify current and incoming employees who rely on OPT and review your longer-term sponsorship strategy, including H-1B and other options.
• Everyone: Submit a comment once the rule opens for public input. Notice-and-comment rulemaking means DHS is required to consider what the public says.

Protecting the Path From Classroom to Career

International students come to the United States to learn, contribute, and build careers. OPT is how many of them take that first step. A proposal like this one creates uncertainty for students, families, schools, and employers all at once.

You do not have to sort through it alone. We are following this proposal closely and will share updates as the rulemaking and any litigation develop. If you have questions about how this could affect you or your organization, contact our team. Nobody should navigate immigration alone, book your consultation with our team of award-winning  business immigration attorneys today.

FAQs

Q: Is the $70,000 OPT fee in effect now?

No. This is a proposed rule. Students should continue to follow the current OPT process, which includes the $470 USCIS filing fee. The new fee could only take effect after DHS reviews public comments and publishes a final rule, and a court challenge could delay or block it.

Q: Who would have to pay the new OPT fee?

Under the proposal, schools would also be required to pay, in addition to the cost falling on students. The fee would apply to a student’s first OPT authorization ($70,000) and to each later authorization, including the STEM extension ($30,000).

Q: Could the OPT fee be struck down like the H-1B fee?

It is possible. A federal court struck down the $100,000 H-1B fee as a tax that only Congress can impose, and an appeals court declined to reinstate it. DHS is using formal rulemaking this time, which addresses one procedural issue, but the core question of whether a fee this large is really a tax remains.