DHS proposes $70,000 fee before F-1 students can start OPT, and $30,000 for each later OPT period

Indian students in the US could face a steep new cost on the work route many of them take after graduation. The Department of Homeland Security has proposed fees of $70,000 for a student’s first period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) and $30,000 for any later period, including the STEM OPT extension. The proposal is not final, and nothing is payable today.

What changed

The proposed rule, “Optional Practical Training Fees”, was published in the Federal Register on 8 October 2026 by DHS through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which runs the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The main points:

• Amounts: $70,000 per F-1 student for initial OPT, and $30,000 for any OPT the student takes after completing the initial period. The rule text puts the 24-month STEM OPT extension in that second category, once the $70,000 has been paid. DHS’s own Study in the States summary describes the $30,000 as a charge for the second year of practical training, so the final wording is worth watching.
• Who pays: the SEVP-certified school. It must pay before its designated school official (DSO) recommends the student for OPT in SEVIS, which comes before the student applies to USCIS for an employment authorisation document (EAD). USCIS would not grant the work permit if the fee has not been paid. The rule does not say where the school must find the money, and DHS acknowledges that schools may pass the cost on to students or employers.
• Not tied to a job: the fee applies when the school recommends a student for any type of OPT, not to a particular employer.
• Refunds: a school may seek a refund of the initial fee if the student never receives an OPT work permit. Once the EAD is issued, the fee is not refundable.
• Timing: the final rule would take effect 60 days after it is published, and the fee would apply to OPT recommendations dated on or after that date.

DHS says the aim is to combat fraud and abuse in the programme and protect US workers. NAFSA, the association of international educators, has pushed back, saying the proposal would hurt the US economy and innovation, and the law firm Duane Morris expects legal challenges if it is finalised.

Who it affects

• F-1 students who have not yet been recommended for OPT, including those in their final year now, if the rule is finalised before their recommendation date.
• Students now on OPT who plan a STEM OPT extension. The rule text says a student for whom no OPT fee has been paid is charged the initial $70,000, so a STEM OPT recommendation dated after the effective date for someone whose first OPT predates the rule would, as proposed, attract $70,000 rather than $30,000.
• Families funding a US degree from India, who should not assume a university will absorb the cost.

Students already on approved OPT, or recommended before any final rule takes effect, would not be charged for that period, since the fee is linked to recommendations dated on or after the effective date. Any later OPT request would be subject to the fee.

What it means for you

1. Check your own timeline. OPT applications follow fixed programme rules on timing. Talk to your DSO about your dates before making plans around the proposal.
2. Ask your university how it would handle the fee if the rule is finalised: whether it would pay, pass it on, or limit recommendations.
3. Check what your offer letter says. If an employer is counting on your OPT or STEM OPT to keep you in work, raise the proposal early.
4. Comment if you wish. Anyone can file a comment on docket ICEB-2026-0100 at Regulations.gov.
5. Track the final rule. DHS must review comments before it can publish a final version, which may differ from the proposal.

Key dates

• 8 October 2026: proposal published in the Federal Register.
• 9 November 2026: last day for public comments on Regulations.gov (11:59 pm US Eastern time).
• 7 December 2026: deadline for comments on the rule’s paperwork (information collection) requirements.
• 60 days after a final rule is published: the fee would take effect.