DHS Proposes $70,000 Fee for International Students Seeking U.S. Work Permits

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (TodayViralUSA) — The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday proposed a $70,000 fee for each international student approved to work in the United States through the Optional Practical Training program, the Trump administration’s most aggressive step yet against a pathway that hundreds of thousands of foreign graduates use to launch their careers.

Under the proposed rule, the fee would be paid by the college or university that recommends a student for the program. Each subsequent period of authorization, including the two-year extension available to graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, would carry an additional $30,000 charge.

What the program does

Optional Practical Training, known as OPT, allows students on F-1 visas to work in jobs related to their field of study for up to 12 months, or up to three years for eligible STEM graduates. Many use it as a bridge to the H-1B specialty-occupation visa. About 418,000 students, more than a quarter of all F-1 holders, had work authorization through the program in 2024, Bloomberg Law reported.

DHS said the fees are aimed at fraud and abuse identified by its Student and Exchange Visitor Program, including what it described as problematic worksites and “pay-to-stay” visa schemes. The department said the charges would push schools to be more selective about which students they recommend.

“Optional Practical Training 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,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the program had become “a pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”

Universities push back

The proposal would hit American colleges that rely heavily on tuition from overseas students, as well as technology companies and other employers that recruit foreign graduates, the Associated Press reported.

Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, said the fee structure adds to “deep uncertainty” for international students and would “only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership.” The group said it would work with its members to file detailed objections to the rule.

The public will have 60 days to comment once the proposal is formally published before DHS can finalize it. The administration imposed a separate $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions last year, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow has previously told senators he wanted to end post-graduation work options under OPT.

Legal experts have predicted the rule will face court challenges once it is finalized.