President Donald Trump’s administration is proposing a dramatic overhaul of a popular foreign-student employment program, requiring American colleges and universities to pay as much as $70,000 before recommending an international student for temporary work authorization in the United States.
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The Department of Homeland Security proposal targets Optional Practical Training, commonly known as OPT, which allows foreign nationals studying on F-1 visas to work temporarily in jobs directly related to their academic studies.
Under the proposed rule, a Student and Exchange Visitor Program-certified institution would have to pay a one-time $70,000 fee before making a student’s first OPT recommendation, regardless of whether that employment occurs before or after graduation.
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Schools would then face another $30,000 charge for each subsequent OPT recommendation involving the same student, including qualifying extensions for graduates with science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees.
The proposal represents a major departure from the existing system because the new five-figure charges would fall directly on participating educational institutions rather than simply increasing the comparatively modest application costs currently paid by students.
DHS says the changes are designed to combat fraud, strengthen the integrity of the immigration system and protect American workers from employment practices that allow businesses to use foreign graduates as a source of lower-cost labor.
The department said OPT has expanded substantially while its ability to investigate individual cases and verify compliance has been constrained by available resources, creating opportunities for fraud and misuse.
DHS specifically argues that the large financial commitment would give universities an incentive to scrutinize OPT recommendations more closely instead of approving students without assuming any significant financial risk.
The department also says the program can be exploited as a way of circumventing other employment-based visa programs, including the capped H-1B system used extensively by technology companies and other employers seeking specialized workers.
OPT generally allows eligible foreign graduates to receive up to 12 months of employment authorization, while graduates with qualifying STEM degrees can obtain an additional 24 months.
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The new fee structure could make that pathway considerably more expensive, particularly for students who receive an initial OPT authorization followed by another recommendation or STEM extension.
DHS estimates that the fees could generate between $8.4 billion and $16.5 billion annually, with the department using approximately $12.4 billion as its primary estimate.
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The department acknowledged that universities could respond by recommending fewer students for OPT and that institutions, students and employers could face substantial economic consequences if schools cannot or choose not to pay the fees.
The proposal could have an especially significant effect on international enrollment because the ability to obtain U.S. work experience after graduation has long been one of the attractions of attending an American university.
New international student enrollment already dropped 17% last fall, according to reporting on the proposed rule, while some colleges have reported declines of between 30% and 40%.
Supporters of tougher restrictions argue that the government’s first obligation should be protecting American workers and preventing foreign-student programs from becoming substitutes for hiring U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
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The OPT proposal fits into the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten legal immigration programs it argues have been manipulated by employers or foreign nationals to gain access to the American labor market.
One important detail of the proposal is that the $70,000 fee would not be connected to a particular employer, meaning the financial obligation would be triggered when a school chooses to recommend a student for OPT rather than when a company hires that graduate.
Likewise, changing employers would not automatically trigger another $30,000 payment, while receiving a subsequent OPT recommendation after previously participating in the program would.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on October 8, and DHS is accepting public comments through November 9 before determining whether the regulation should be modified or finalized.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
