The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a major overhaul of the Optional Practical Training program, introducing a $70,000 fee for F-1 visa holders seeking initial work authorization and an additional $30,000 for any subsequent extension. The agency says the steep charges are necessary to curb what it describes as widespread fraud and abuse that has turned the program into a pipeline for cheap foreign labor.
Under the current system, eligible international students can work part-time while enrolled and full-time after graduation at a cost of roughly $500. Participants must work in a field directly related to their major, obtain a recommendation from a designated school official, and secure employment authorization from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Graduates in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields can qualify for an additional 24-month extension.
«Optional Practical Training was never meant to be a back door into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a prize for those who game the system,» a DHS spokesperson said. «DHS is upskilling OPT to require foreign students to justify their worth to employers. American workers should not have to compete against a program that has been turned into a pipeline for cheap foreign labor.»
The proposed fee structure follows what DHS calls widespread fraud identified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. According to the agency, certain schools, designated school officials, employers, and F-1 students have exploited existing regulations through illicit arrangements, including non-compliant worksites and «pay-to-stay» visa schemes. The agency maintains the rule change would force educational institutions to exercise greater oversight and selectivity before recommending students for the program.
However, the proposal is expected to face immediate legal hurdles. Doug Rand, director of the Talent Mobility Fund, an organization advocating to attract foreign STEM talent, dismissed the rule's chances in court. «Don't Panic: DHS has no authority to slap a $70k fee on international students,» Rand wrote on LinkedIn. «Let's not overreact — this proposed rule isn't going to fare well in the courts, just as the $100k H-1B fee and other restrictionist policies have been struck down.»
The proposed rule will be subject to a public comment period before any final implementation. The outcome could significantly affect the roughly hundreds of thousands of international students who rely on OPT each year to gain work experience after graduation, as well as the technology, engineering, and research sectors that depend heavily on this talent pipeline. If implemented, the fees would represent a more than hundredfold increase over current costs, potentially pricing out all but the wealthiest applicants and reshaping the post-graduation landscape for foreign students in the United States.