The Department of Homeland Security has proposed charging schools $70,000 for each foreign student’s first round of Optional Practical Training, the work program known as OPT, and $30,000 for each later round. The proposal is in a rule published in the Federal Register on Oct. 8. It is only a proposal, and DHS is taking public comments until Nov. 9, 2026.

What the proposed fees cover

OPT lets students on F-1 visas work in the United States during or after their studies. Under the proposal, a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program would owe $70,000 for an initial OPT recommendation for an F-1 student. It would owe an additional $30,000 for any later recommendation for the same student, such as a STEM OPT extension. The initial fee is a one-time charge the school pays before its designated school official makes the recommendation, according to the rule.

The rule says schools may pass the cost on to F-1 students, to all students, or to employers. That is where the money question lands for families and workers: the fee is written as a school’s bill, but the notice leaves room for it to reach a student’s tuition, a student’s own pocket or a hiring company.

The people closest to this are international students, the schools that enroll them and the employers who hire OPT graduates. DHS counts 194,554 F-1 students with OPT employment in 2024, and 165,524 students in STEM OPT by that year. Inside Higher Ed reports that nearly 290,000 students were authorized for OPT or STEM OPT in 2024.

The $70,000 and $30,000 fees are proposed numbers, and DHS can change them after the Nov. 9 comment deadline before any final rule.

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Who would be exempt

Inside Higher Ed reports that students approved for OPT before the fee takes effect would not have to pay it. The rule says it would take effect 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register. No final rule has been issued, so there is no effective date yet. Students approved before that date would be the group left out of the charge.

What DHS says it is aiming at

Inside Higher Ed reports that DHS points to about 10,000 F-1 students on OPT who it says were working for highly suspect employers. The 10,000 figure is DHS’s own claim, not an independent count.

What DHS estimates it would cost

The Federal Register rule puts the cost at $4.1 billion a year, discounted at 3 percent. Over 10 years it gives a primary estimate of $35.1 billion, inside a range of $275 million to $69.9 billion. The wide range shows how much depends on how many students enroll, how many schools pass the fee along and who ends up paying.

The fees add up fast for schools. A student who gets an initial OPT recommendation and one later round, such as a STEM extension, would generate $100,000 in fees for the school, $70,000 plus $30,000. As an example, a college that recommends 100 first-time OPT students in a year would owe $7 million.

The wide range also reflects a plain unknown: how many students would still choose a U.S. school if OPT came with a charge attached to the school’s bill. DHS publishes the range, and the final figure depends on choices that students, schools and employers have not made yet.

Reaction from colleges

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities called the proposal “deeply flawed,” as Inside Higher Ed reports. Fanta Aw of NAFSA, the international educators’ association, said, “Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation.”

Commenting by Nov. 9

Anyone can send comments on the proposed rule, and the free route is the instructions in the Federal Register rule, which lead to the federal comment site, regulations.gov. Comments on the rule itself must be received on or before Nov. 9, 2026. A separate deadline of Dec. 7, 2026 applies to comments on the paperwork requirements.

The strongest comments are specific. A student can describe what OPT pay covers. A school can put the $70,000 or $30,000 figure next to its own count of OPT students. An employer can describe how many OPT graduates it hires. DHS has to weigh comments before it writes a final rule, and the final rule can differ from the proposal.

Until a final rule is published, nothing in the notice changes what a student or school pays today. The numbers to watch are the two fees and the Nov. 9 date.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.