The US Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, proposed a $70,000 fee for every international student who applies to work in the United States through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program — with renewal applications carrying a $30,000 fee.

The proposal, the latest Trump administration move to restrict foreign enrollment, shifts the cost to colleges and universities rather than to students themselves. Schools, not applicants, would pay the fee for each new student's initial OPT application.

What does the proposed rule change?

Under the current OPT program, international students can work in jobs related to their major during or after their studies. Students are generally eligible for one year of post-graduation work, and certain STEM majors qualify for an additional two years.

The proposed rule would require schools to pay:

• $70,000 for each new student's initial OPT application
• $30,000 for each renewal application

DHS described the fee as a response to fraud and abuse of the visa program, which it called a "pipeline for cheap foreign labor."

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal before DHS can finalize it and put it into effect. The rule could also face legal challenges from higher education groups or business associations, which could delay implementation.

Who is affected?

The change would touch American colleges and universities, which heavily recruit students from overseas as a source of tuition revenue, and tech companies and other industries that hire international students for technical roles.

Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, an association representing international education, said the OPT program allows international students to gain hands-on experience and fill labor shortages in high-demand STEM fields. "Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership," Aw said in a written statement.

Is the fee likely to survive court challenges?

Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at US Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, predicted the courts would strike down the fee, as they did a $100,000 fee for H-1B work visas that many tech companies and universities rely on. The Trump administration is now trying a different route to raise the H-1B fee above $100,000.

"When we educate international students at our universities, and they want to work and apply their talents here after graduating, of course we should embrace them — not use an exorbitant fee as a pretext to send them packing," Rand said in an email.

How is enrollment already shifting?

Last fall, the number of new international students entering the United States for the first time fell 17%, the sharpest decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Sarah Spreitzer, vice president at the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents.

Overall figures for this fall are not yet available, but Spreitzer said some individual colleges report drops of 30% to 40%.

"We know that OPT is one of the reasons that international students choose to study in the United States because they're able to have that post-graduation work experience," she said.

What other student-work rules have changed?

The OPT proposal is part of a broader crackdown. Last year, the administration began terminating the legal status of thousands of international students, detaining and deporting many of them.

This summer, DHS finalized a rule limiting international students to four years in the US without federal approval. A federal court blocked that rule from taking effect in September.

Separately, new guidance from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement restricts Curricular Practical Training — a program allowing internships and practicums — to work that is a degree requirement. Education groups including the Association of American Universities and NAFSA said the program was previously allowed if the work was "directly related to the student's major area of study," and said ICE threatened college officials with criminal prosecution for non-compliance. The guidance drew a lawsuit on Monday.

Houston immigration lawyer Steven Brown said the fee appears designed to end OPT without formally eliminating it: "I don't see too many schools wanting to pay $70,000 for a student to get OPT."