The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has unveiled a proposed rule requiring colleges and universities to pay a steep $70,000 fee for every international student seeking to work in the United States after graduation.
The measure targets the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows foreign graduates to work in roles directly related to their degrees for up to one year, or up to three years for qualifying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Under the proposed framework, institutions would be forced to cover $70,000 for each graduate’s initial OPT application and an additional $30,000 for any renewal.
DHS defended the proposed cost as a necessary step to curb fraud and abuse, labeling the current visa framework a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor.” The public now has a 60-day comment window before the agency can move to finalize the regulation.
Repercussions for Higher Education and Industry
The initiative marks another major escalation in the administration’s broader immigration clampdown and poses significant disruption to both academia and the private sector:
- Revenue and Talent Pipeline Risks: U.S. higher education institutions depend heavily on international students for tuition revenue, while technology companies and other major employers rely on OPT participants to ease labor shortages in highly specialized technical and STEM roles.
- Economic Backlash: Advocacy leaders warned the policy would jeopardize U.S. competitiveness. Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, stated that sidelining global talent threatens American innovation, economic expansion, and global leadership.
- Sharp Enrollment Declines: International student numbers are already dropping. According to the American Council on Education, first-time international enrollments plummeted 17% last fall, with several individual institutions reporting current downturns between 30% and 40%. Analysts emphasize that post-graduation work opportunities remain a central reason international candidates select U.S. institutions.
Mounting Legal and Regulatory Pressure
Immigration policy analysts and higher education groups widely expect the proposed fee structure to face swift legal challenges.
Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, noted that the proposal mirrors an earlier effort to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B skilled-worker visas, which was rejected by federal courts. Legal observers also described the policy as a calculated effort to effectively terminate OPT by pricing academic institutions out of participating, rather than dismantling the program through formal statutory repeal.
The OPT proposal follows several other federal initiatives targeting foreign students, including abrupt status cancellations, deportations, and an attempt to cap student visas at four years—a rule blocked by a federal court in September. Concurrently, new restrictions on Curricular Practical Training (CPT) internships have prompted a lawsuit from major academic groups, who argue federal authorities are unlawfully narrowing training options and threatening university officials with criminal liability.
