DHS proposes $70K fee for international student work program
Por Bianca Quilantan — POLITICO – TOP Stories
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday proposed significantly raising fees on a popular work authorization program for international students.
Under the proposal, schools would have to pay a $70,000 fee for each student seeking Optional Practical Training, known as OPT, and $30,000 for applications for program extensions. That represents a sharp increase from the current fee of around $500, which international students have historically paid themselves.
The program allows foreign students on F-1 visas to temporarily work in the United States in jobs related to their fields of study after graduation. The program is a key driver of foreign student enrollment and often serves as a bridge for those students to transition to other immigration statuses, like the H-1B visa, to continue working in the country.
“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,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a press release. “DHS is upskilling OPT to require foreign students to justify their worth to employers. American workers should not have to compete against a program that has been turned into a pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”
More than 294,250 students participated in OPT in the 2024-25 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education. Those participants made up roughly a quarter of all international students in the United States.
The Trump administration’s latest move could have sweeping consequences for universities’ international recruitment strategies and finances. At many colleges, international students — who often pay full tuition — have become an important source of tuition revenue, helping support school budgets and, in some cases, subsidizing financial aid and other services for domestic students.
But the administration has also said the new fees are intended to curb fraud. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this year said it identified more than 10,000 cases of potential fraud associated with the program.
The administration said the proposed fees will force schools to “exercise greater oversight and selectivity” when recommending the program to students.
Under the proposed rule, colleges enrolling international students must pay the fee before designated school officials recommend an international student for the OPT program in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and before a student applies for employment authorization with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Otherwise, the agency will not grant the authorization until it does.
The fees would go to the Treasury.
The proposal will be open for public comment through Nov. 9.
Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories
