Society 5 min read By Callum Montgomery
US proposes $70,000 fee per international student in OPT work programme
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a $70,000 fee for each international student participating in the Optional Practical Training programme, with schools footing the bill as new foreign enrolment falls 17%.
The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed a $70,000 fee for every international student who takes part in the Optional Practical Training programme, a move that would place the financial burden directly on American colleges and universities. The proposed rule, announced on Wednesday, would require schools to pay the fee for each new student's initial application to the work programme, with a further $30,000 charge for each renewal.
OPT allows international students to work in jobs related to their major during or after their studies. Most students are eligible for one year of post-graduation work, while those in certain science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields can extend that by an additional two years. The programme is widely used by tech companies and other industries to fill technical roles, and by universities as a recruiting tool for overseas students who pay full tuition.
The proposal is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to crack down on immigration and reshape higher education. Last year, the administration began terminating the legal status of thousands of international students, detaining and deporting many of them. This summer, it finalised a rule that would have prevented international students from staying in the US for more than four years without federal approval. That rule drew swift backlash from higher education leaders, who said it would increase the burden on schools and noted that many programmes are longer than four years by design. A federal court prevented it from taking effect in September.
In a statement, DHS described the fee as a response to fraud and abuse of the visa programme, which it called a «pipeline for cheap foreign labour». The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal before the department can finalise it. Legal challenges from higher education groups or business associations could delay or block it.
Fanta Aw, chief executive of NAFSA, an association representing international education, said the OPT programme allows students to gain hands-on experience and fill labour shortages in high-demand STEM fields. «Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership,» Aw said in a written statement.
Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at US Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, predicted the fee would be struck down in the courts, as was a $100,000 fee for H-1B work visas that many tech companies and universities rely on. The administration is now trying a different route to raise that visa fee above $100,000. «When we educate international students at our universities, and they want to work and apply their talents here after graduating, of course we should embrace them — not use an exorbitant fee as a pretext to send them packing,» Rand said.
Enrolment concerns are already mounting. Sarah Spreitzer, vice president at the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents, said the number of new international students entering the US for the first time fell by 17% last autumn, the sharpest decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall figures for this autumn are not yet available, but some individual colleges are reporting drops of 30% to 40%. Spreitzer said the new plan will not help. «We know that OPT is one of the reasons that international students choose to study in the United States because they're able to have that post-graduation work experience,» she added.
A similar programme, Curricular Practical Training, has also faced scrutiny. New guidance from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the programme should only be authorised when the work experience is a degree requirement. Education groups including the Association of American Universities and NAFSA said that in the past the programme was allowed if it was «directly related to the student's major area of study». They also said ICE was threatening college officials with criminal prosecution if they did not comply. A lawsuit was filed on Monday.
«We know the administration has been trying to hinder legal employment-based immigration through numerous means,» said Steven Brown, a Houston-based immigration lawyer. «I think this is the next level of attack, and I think it's a design to kill the program without killing the program. I don't see too many schools wanting to pay $70,000 for a student to get OPT.»
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