US OPT Fee: $70,000 Per International Graduate

On 9 November 2026 the US Department of Homeland Security closed the 30-day comment window on its proposed US OPT fee. The draft, published in the Federal Register on 8 October 2026, would make colleges pay a charge for every F-visa student they recommend for Optional Practical Training: USD 70,000 for the first year and USD 30,000 for the second — typically the STEM extension — with nothing further in later years. Nearly 9,000 comments arrived before the deadline, and universities almost unanimously asked DHS to withdraw the plan, arguing that the money would shut some international graduates out of work training altogether.

What is the US OPT fee proposal?

Optional Practical Training lets F-visa graduates work in their field without a separate work visa. It was broadened under President George W. Bush in 2008 and has since become the main bridge from a US degree to an H-1B petition. Under the draft text the payer is the school rather than the student: the institution bears the charge when it recommends a graduate for OPT. DHS names fraud as a central justification — students keeping status through employers with no genuine working relationship.

Note that this is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. It is not in force. After the comment period DHS must review every submission and may rewrite provisions, and there is still no timetable for a final rule or for whether the USD 70,000 and USD 30,000 figures survive.

Who pays, and who is affected?

Colleges write the cheque, but the pressure travels down the admissions and careers pipeline. Three groups feel it most: undergraduates in their third and fourth years who treat OPT as their first post-graduation job; international researchers whose postdoctoral or laboratory posts run on OPT; and graduates of smaller institutions with large international cohorts, where there is no budget cushion to absorb the cost.

For Chinese students who plan to start their US careers through OPT, the change is not at the application gate but on the supply side: if schools cut the number of recommendations to control costs, fewer graduates in a given class obtain work authorisation, and institutions have no fair, public way to pick between equally qualified candidates.

Old rules versus the new fee

The size of the bill shows up in the arithmetic universities did themselves. DHS put the total annual burden on institutions at between USD 8.7 billion and USD 16.9 billion. Among Association of American Universities members that filed comments with a cost estimate, the lowest was Tulane University at USD 13 million a year; at the top end, eight institutions would owe more than USD 100 million annually, including Arizona State University, which enrols more international students than any other US university. Those 22 AAU members alone add up to roughly USD 2.1 billion a year. Smaller colleges are squeezed harder: Lewis University, with 7,000 students of whom 870 are international, estimated annual OPT charges of USD 46.8 million — 30 per cent of its operating budget.

Timeline and what students should do now

Only three dates are fixed: the rule was published on 8 October 2026, the main comment period ended on 9 November 2026, and comments tied to the Paperwork Reduction Act run to 7 December 2026. What follows is internal review and possible redrafting; no effective date has been announced, and the rule could still be changed or shelved.

The practical stance for students is to plan neither for certainty that the fee lands nor for certainty that it dies. Anyone already studying in the US and due to graduate in 2027 should keep a backup that does not depend on OPT — early preparation for a return-home job search, or paperwork for a work visa in a third country such as Singapore, Hong Kong or Canada — and should treat briefings from the campus international student office as compulsory, because each school will decide how the final text is applied.

AIAIG View

First, treat OPT as a bonus rather than the only road. If a US career plan rests entirely on OPT bridging to an H-1B, this proposal has already exposed the single point of failure; build a third-country or return-home alternative while applying, not after graduating.

Second, put international cohort size and past OPT recommendation rates into the school comparison table instead of relying on rankings. The eight institutions facing nine-figure annual bills, and mid-sized colleges with heavy international enrolment such as Lewis University, are the most likely to trim recommendations under cost pressure — and practice may differ by faculty within one university.

Third, students already on campus should ask their international office three questions now: has the school filed comments, how would places be allocated if the rule takes effect, and is there a transition arrangement. Those answers beat any second-hand interpretation.

Fourth, do not pre-fund on the assumption that the charge will be pushed onto students. The draft makes institutions the payer and many universities oppose any transfer; what is genuinely short is time — if the rule lands before graduation, the window for a fallback plan is narrow.

This is general information and judgement, not immigration or legal advice; check the official notice and the final rule for details.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Study in the States
• Inside Higher Ed