The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a proposed OPT fee of $70,000 for a student’s first Optional Practical Training recommendation and $30,000 for each later one. According to a Duane Morris alert, the proposed rule was published on 8 October 2026 under docket ICEB-2026-0100. It is a proposal, not law, and nothing is owed unless DHS issues a final rule. Comments are open for a short window, and students, schools and employers have until early November to be heard.
In this report
- What DHS is proposing
- Who would pay
- STEM OPT and later requests
- DHS’s own estimates
- What to do before the deadline
- Questions on the proposed OPT fee
What the proposed OPT fee would do
Optional Practical Training lets F-1 students work in the United States in their field of study during or after their degree. Under the proposal, a school would pay $70,000 the first time it recommends a student for OPT, of any type. The charge would apply once per student. Each later recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension, would cost $30,000. DHS also asks for comment on an alternative that would charge $70,000 again at each higher education level, according to Wolfsdorf Rosenthal.
The rule would take effect 60 days after a final rule is published. Students who are already approved for OPT, or whose schools have already recommended them before that date, would be grandfathered, according to Duane Morris. Changing employers on its own would not trigger the $30,000 charge, per the Wolfsdorf summary.
Who would actually pay
The legal obligation sits with the school, not the student. Both law-firm summaries say Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certified schools would have to pay before a designated school official can enter the OPT recommendation in SEVIS, the government’s student database. Wolfsdorf notes that schools could try to recover the cost from students, employers or other sources. The proposal does not say they must, and it does not say they may not.
That gap is the main uncertainty for students. A university facing a $70,000 charge per graduate could pass it on, absorb it, limit OPT recommendations, or ask employers to contribute. None of these outcomes is set. Treat any claim about how a particular school will respond as speculation until that school says so in writing.
STEM OPT and later requests
STEM OPT extensions count as later authorisations, so each would carry the $30,000 charge. Wolfsdorf reports that DHS estimated about 95,000 STEM OPT participants were active in 2024. Consider a hypothetical case. Linh is a Vietnamese computer-science master’s student who expects to graduate in 2027. If the rule were final before her school made her first recommendation, that recommendation would trigger the $70,000 charge, and a later STEM extension would trigger $30,000. If she were recommended before the effective date, she would be grandfathered.
DHS’s own estimates
Duane Morris reports that DHS estimates 2,478 schools would be affected and that annual fees would run between $8.4 billion and $16.5 billion. These figures come from the agency that wrote the proposal, so they describe the department’s modelling rather than an independent audit. Universities and student groups are likely to challenge them in their comments.
What to do before the deadline
Comments must be filed through regulations.gov and must reference docket ICEB-2026-0100. Duane Morris gives the deadline as 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 7 November 2026, and Wolfsdorf’s summary points to the same date. A separate immigration-law update dated 13 October lists 9 November, so confirm the exact date in the published notice before you file. Emailed or mailed comments will not be considered.
Students who may be affected should ask their international office three questions: when will it recommend OPT, whether the school plans to pass on any cost, and what documents it needs. You can also check your wider options with our visa eligibility checker. For related US changes, read our reports on the court pause on the duration-of-status rule and the public charge rule for green card filers.
Questions on the proposed OPT fee
Is the OPT fee in force?
No. It is a proposed rule published on 8 October 2026. It would take effect 60 days after a final rule, and only if DHS adopts one.
Who pays the $70,000?
The proposal puts the payment on SEVP-certified schools, which must pay before an OPT recommendation can be entered in SEVIS. Schools may seek to recover the cost elsewhere.
Would STEM OPT extensions cost more?
Each STEM OPT extension would count as a later recommendation and carry a $30,000 charge under the proposal.
Would current OPT students have to pay?
Students already approved or recommended before the effective date would be grandfathered, according to Duane Morris.
When is the comment deadline?
Duane Morris gives 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 7 November 2026. One other update lists 9 November, so check the notice on regulations.gov.
Where do I file a comment?
On regulations.gov, citing docket ICEB-2026-0100.
Sources
- Duane Morris — Homeland Security proposes $70,000 and $30,000 fees for F-1 Optional Practical Training. https://www.duanemorris.com/alerts/homeland_security_proposes_$70000_$30000_fees_f1_optional_practical_training_1026.html
- Wolfsdorf Rosenthal — Fifteen things to know about DHS’s proposed OPT fees. https://wolfsdorf.com/fifteen-things-to-know-about-dhss-proposed-opt-fees/
- Cyrus Mehta & Partners — Immigration update, 13 October 2026. https://cyrusmehta.com/blog/2026/10/13/immigration-update-october-15-2026/