DHS proposes a $70,000 school fee for each student's first OPT

DHS proposes a $70,000 school fee for each student's first OPT

7 October 2026: The Department of Homeland Security has proposed that every school certified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program pay $70,000 before it first recommends an F-1 student for Optional Practical Training, and $30,000 for each later recommendation. The notice of proposed rulemaking, filed with the Federal Register on 7 October and scheduled for publication on 8 October, covers pre-completion and post-completion OPT as well as STEM OPT extensions.

Not yet independently verified. The comment deadline is not stated as a date in the notice; the 9 November date comes from Murthy Law Firm and other reports give 7 November. We have not read the full cost analysis. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

DHS gives the purpose as combating fraud, strengthening the integrity of the immigration system and protecting U.S. workers. The fee would be owed by the institution, not charged by DHS to the student or an employer. The text goes further, though: DHS acknowledges that schools may pass the cost on to F-1 students, to all students or to employers, and says doing so would raise the price of participation for those it describes as using OPT mainly to work or stay in the country.

Nothing is payable yet. If DHS finalizes the rule, it would take effect 60 days after the final rule is published. The $70,000 fee would apply to any OPT recommendation dated on or after that effective date. The notice says schools would not owe it for a student who is already doing approved OPT, was approved before the effective date, or received a school recommendation before that date. A student who asks for a further period of OPT after the effective date would fall under the $30,000 fee.

Comments are due 30 days after publication, through the federal rulemaking portal under docket ICEB-2026-0100. Murthy Law Firm puts the closing date at 9 November. A separate 60-day period applies to comments on the paperwork burden.

Employers that hire graduates on OPT or STEM OPT will want to track two things. One is whether the schools they recruit from decide to recover the fee, since DHS expressly leaves that choice open. The other is the cut-off: offers that depend on a recommendation issued before the effective date are outside the fee, while later extensions are not. Murthy Law Firm advises students, schools and employers to keep following current OPT requirements while the proposal is open.

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Sources

• Federal Register public inspection: Optional Practical Training Fees (DHS Docket ICEB-2026-0100), 7 October 2026
• Murthy Law Firm: DHS Proposes $70,000 Initial OPT Fee and $30,000 Fee for Subsequent OPT, 7 October 2026