DHS proposes per-student OPT fees: $70,000 for initial OPT, $30,000 for each subsequent period
United States · Policy change · Published 2026-10-08, in the Federal Register (91 FR 64566)
| Country / region | United States |
|---|---|
| Category | Policy change |
| Date | Published 2026-10-08, in the Federal Register (91 FR 64566) |
| What happened | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of DHS, published a proposed rule on 10-08 (Docket ICEB-2026-0100, RIN 1653-AB01) that would charge $70,000 one time per F-1 student for initial OPT and $30,000 for each subsequent OPT period, including the 24-month STEM extension. The fee is payable by SEVP-certified schools before the school enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS, and USCIS would not grant work authorization before payment. DHS states in the rule that schools may pass the financial obligation on to F-1 students, all students, or employers; the rule includes refund provisions. DHS says the goal is to combat OPT fraud and abuse and protect U.S. workers; using calendar-year 2024 data (about 194,554 OPT and 95,384 STEM OPT participants), DHS estimates annual collections of roughly $8.4 billion to $16.5 billion (primary estimate $12.4 billion). Comments are due by 2026-11-09 (information-collection comments by 12-07). This follows DHS's 08-24 proposal of a $103,265 fee on cap-subject H-1B petitions, continuing a broader tightening of the international-student-to-work pipeline. |
| Impact on applicants | OPT is the main bridge from F-1 study to U.S. work and then H-1B. Under current rules students pay a few hundred dollars for the I-765 (about $500 per the Global Times); if finalized, the cost of study-to-work moves from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands. DHS's low-participation scenario assumes schools would pay the initial fee only for students eligible for the STEM extension — non-STEM students may face schools declining to recommend OPT at all. Nothing has changed yet: comments are open until 11-09, and students already in OPT or preparing to file follow current rules. For 27Fall and later applicants, the practical step is to factor STEM eligibility and OPT cost into school and major selection — without treating the proposal as final. |
| Source | U.S. Department of Homeland Security / ICE, Federal Register proposed rule (2026-10-08, 91 FR 64566) ↗ Note on scope: proposed rule — not yet in effect; comments close 2026-11-09 |
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security / ICE, Federal Register (2026-10-08, 91 FR 64566) ↗ · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · For reference only; not application or legal advice. Always check the official source for current rules.
FAQ
DHS proposes per-student OPT fees — what happened?
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of DHS, published a proposed rule on 10-08 (Federal Register 91 FR 64566, Docket ICEB-2026-0100, RIN 1653-AB01) that would charge $70,000 one time per F-1 student for initial OPT and $30,000 for each subsequent OPT period, including the 24-month STEM extension. The fee is payable by SEVP-certified schools before the school enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS, and USCIS would not grant work authorization before payment. DHS says the goal is to combat OPT fraud and abuse and protect U.S. workers; using calendar-year 2024 data (about 194,554 OPT and 95,384 STEM OPT participants), DHS estimates annual collections of roughly $8.4 billion to $16.5 billion (primary estimate $12.4 billion). Comments are due by 2026-11-09 (information-collection comments by 12-07), and the rule includes refund provisions.
Who pays the fee — could it be passed on to students?
On paper the obligation sits with SEVP-certified schools, and it must be paid before the OPT recommendation is entered in SEVIS. But DHS explicitly states in the rule that schools may pass the financial obligation on to F-1 students, to all students, or to employers — so in practice students or employers would likely bear it. For scale: under current rules students pay a few hundred dollars for the I-765 (about $500 per the Global Times); the proposed fee is an order-of-magnitude jump.
What should families planning U.S. study do now?
Three points: (1) this is a proposed rule, not in effect — comments are open until 11-09 and students already in OPT or preparing to file follow current rules, so do not panic as if it were final; (2) if staying to work in the U.S. matters, factor STEM eligibility (the 24-month extension) into school and major selection — DHS's low-participation scenario assumes schools would only pay the initial fee for students eligible for the STEM extension, so non-STEM students may face schools declining to recommend OPT; (3) treat a multi-country application strategy as a hedge — Australia, Canada and Hong Kong all saw major moves this week (see other insights on this site). This page is for reference only and is not application or legal advice.
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