OPT Fee 2026: What the Proposed $70,000 Rule Means for International Students Applying to U.S. Colleges
A proposed federal rule would make colleges pay to recommend F-1 students for Optional Practical Training (OPT), the work authorization many international students count on after graduation. Here is what it says, what it doesn’t, and how to plan your college applications around the uncertainty.
By Dr. Nathan Hurwitz · Hurwitz Consulting · October 9, 2026
QUICK ANSWERS
What is it? A proposed DHS rule that would charge a college $70,000 the first time it recommends a student for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and $30,000 for each later recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension.
Is it law? No. It is a proposal that must go through public comment and could face legal challenges.
Who pays? The college pays, though it could try to pass costs on to students or employers.
Should international students still apply to U.S. colleges? Applications are open and nothing here changes that on its own. Ask each college in writing whether it plans to support OPT.
If your family is international, or you are helping an international student with college applications, you have probably seen the headline: the Department of Homeland Security has proposed a $70,000 OPT fee. OPT, or Optional Practical Training, is the work authorization that lets F-1 student visa holders work in their field after graduation, and for many families it is a big part of why they choose to study in the USA. If you are a domestic family, you may have scrolled right past it. Please don’t: the proposal could affect college budgets, financial aid, and how many international students colleges enroll.
This guide explains the proposal in plain language, what is still unknown, and what to do now while you build your college list and prepare your college applications. We have also given you the strongest arguments on both sides before offering our own read.
What is OPT (Optional Practical Training), and how does it work for F-1 students?
Optional Practical Training is a work-authorization benefit that lets international students on F-1 visas work in jobs related to their field of study, during or after their degree. Students in STEM fields can qualify for two additional years through a STEM OPT extension. For many international families, the chance to gain U.S. work experience after graduation is a central part of the value of studying here. It sits alongside cost, academics, and fit when families compare the United States with other countries.
OPT is not a separate visa. It is permission tied to the student’s F-1 status, and it begins with a recommendation from the college’s designated school official before the federal government approves it. That detail matters, because the new proposal puts the fee at that recommendation step.
What is the proposed OPT fee, and how much would it cost?
Under the proposed rule, a school would pay $70,000 the first time it recommends a student for any OPT, whether before or after graduation. Each later recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension, would cost $30,000. For a STEM student who uses both, the fees tied to that one student’s path would add up to $100,000. (That total is our arithmetic from the two proposed fee levels, shown below. It is not a figure DHS published.)
Figure 1. The two proposed fee levels and what they add up to for one STEM student’s path. Illustrative sum; the proposal is not final.
Who pays the OPT fee, and why does DHS say it is needed?
The fee is charged to the school, not the student. An immigration-law analysis of the proposal notes that schools could try to recover the cost from students, employers, or other funding sources. That is the part parents should watch most closely.
DHS says the fees would deter fraud, strengthen oversight, help offset administrative costs, and reduce reliance on OPT as a long-term employment pathway. The Associated Press reports that the department described the program as a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”
DHS also estimated the size of the program: about 194,000 students on OPT and about 95,000 on STEM OPT in 2024, with annual fee payments that could total $8.4 billion to $16.5 billion. The department acknowledged that some schools might stop funding OPT, which could significantly reduce participation.
Figure 2. DHS’s own estimates of how many students are in OPT and STEM OPT, and the projected annual cost of the fees.
How could colleges respond to the OPT fee? (Our analysis)
A fee this large forces every school with international students to make a choice. In our read, there are three broad paths, and each has different consequences for families.
• Absorb it. The school pays from its own budget. Well-funded institutions may be better positioned to do this, but every dollar spent here is a dollar not spent on something else, including aid or instruction.
• Pass it along. The school asks students, employers, or other sponsors to cover some or all of the cost. For a student, that could turn a benefit into a large and uncertain new expense.
• Stop supporting OPT. DHS itself says some schools might do this. For students at those schools, work authorization after graduation could disappear, which would change the value of the degree.
DHS’s own analysis says more than 56 percent of the schools approved to enroll international students may be small entities. Small, tuition-dependent colleges generally have the thinnest margins, which is why we think they are the most exposed to the third path.
Is the OPT fee in effect? Where the rule stands, plus the separate student visa duration-of-status fight
The OPT fee is a proposal. It must go through public comment before DHS can make it final, and if it is finalized, it would apply to recommendations made 60 days after the final rule is published. Reports differ on the length of the comment window (the AP reports 60 days; an immigration-law firm’s summary says 30), so check the Federal Register notice for the exact deadline. The rule could also face legal challenges that delay it.
Separately, and easy to confuse with the OPT fee, DHS issued a rule in July that would have replaced “duration of status” with a fixed stay of up to four years. Today, F-1 students are typically admitted for “duration of status,” meaning as long as they remain enrolled in their program. A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the four-year rule nationwide in mid-September, and DHS has appealed to the 1st Circuit. While the appeal is pending, duration of status stays in effect.
Multi-year programs, especially doctoral programs and five-year degrees, have the most at stake under a fixed cap. Under the rule as written, even a gap semester or medical leave could require an extension filing in a four-year program.
Figure 3. The visa-duration rule and the OPT fee are separate proposals at different stages.
Why does the OPT fee matter for college costs and financial aid, even for U.S. students?
It is tempting to file this under “someone else’s problem.” We would gently disagree. International students typically pay full sticker price, which means enrollment shifts can strain budgets even when total headcount holds steady. (Our companion post on college financial health shows fall 2026 examples at Ohio State, Indiana University, and others.) When a college’s revenue tightens, families can feel it in program availability, class sizes, and, at some schools, the financial aid conversation.
We are not predicting that any particular college will cut aid because of this proposal. We are saying it is a budget pressure worth asking about.
The strongest arguments on each side
Supporters argue that a fee would deter fraud and abuse that DHS says it has documented, protect entry-level jobs for American graduates, and shift more of the cost of administering a very large program onto the institutions that benefit from it.
Critics, including the international-education association NAFSA, warn that driving students away would harm American innovation and economic growth, and that universities and employers that rely on international talent would lose out. DHS’s own acknowledgment that some schools may drop OPT is, for critics, the clearest sign that the fee could reshape access rather than simply police fraud.
DR. HURWITZ’S TAKE
I want to be fair here: fraud in any work-authorization program deserves enforcement, and reasonable people disagree about how much OPT should function as a bridge into the American workforce. But a flat fee of this size lands on schools, and the institutions most likely to respond by dropping OPT support are smaller, tuition-dependent ones. If your family is international, ask every school on your list, in writing, whether it intends to fund OPT if this rule is finalized. If you are a domestic family, remember that shifts in international enrollment change what some colleges can afford to offer you.
Dos and Don’ts
Do
• Ask each school, in writing, whether it plans to fund OPT and STEM OPT if the rule is finalized.
• Check your student’s I-94 record and know whether it says “D/S” or a fixed end date.
• Read the Federal Register notice yourself and note the comment deadline.
• Keep copies of every school communication about OPT, visas, and fees.
• Talk with the college’s international student office, which hears official guidance first.
Don’t
• Don’t treat the proposal as final law, or as something that will never happen.
• Don’t withdraw, defer, or switch plans based on rumors or social-media posts.
• Don’t rely on any agent or website that promises a guaranteed OPT outcome.
• Don’t assume the OPT fee and the four-year visa rule are the same thing. They are separate and at different stages.
• Don’t assume a domestic family is unaffected. Enrollment shifts ripple into budgets.
Your Action Steps (and Why Each One Matters)
1. Email the admissions and international offices at every school on your list.
Why: Ask: “If DHS finalizes the proposed OPT fee, does the college intend to pay it?” The fee lands on the school, so the school’s answer, not the headline, determines your student’s real exposure. Getting it in writing lets you compare schools on equal footing and gives you a record.
2. Check your I-94 at i94.cbp.dhs.gov.
Why: If it shows “D/S,” no action is needed under current rules; if it shows a specific end date, contact your international office promptly. Knowing which applies prevents both panic and complacency.
3. Mark the comment deadline and decide whether to comment.
Why: Sources disagree on the length of the window, so the Federal Register notice is the only reliable guide. Agencies are required to consider public comments, and comments from families and schools show the real-world effects.
4. Build a “Plan B” timeline for a longer program.
Why: Multi-year programs have the most at stake under a stay limit. Mapping a contingency now, such as what you would do if an extension filing were required, turns an unknown into a manageable to-do.
5. Domestic families: ask admissions how international enrollment affects the budget and aid.
Why: International students typically pay full price, so shifts can create pressure at colleges that rely on them. A clear, confident answer is a good sign. A vague one is information too.
6. Follow one official source for updates.
Why: Rumors move faster than rules. Your college’s international office and NAFSA publish guidance as things change. Checking one reliable source weekly beats scrolling headlines daily.
What We Don’t Know Yet
• The exact comment deadline (sources conflict) and when a final rule could arrive.
• Whether schools will absorb the fee, pass it along, or stop funding OPT. DHS itself says some might.
• Whether the rule will be challenged in court, and how quickly.
• How the 1st Circuit will rule on the appeal of the four-year stay limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OPT for international students?
Optional Practical Training is work authorization tied to F-1 student status that lets international students work in jobs related to their major, during or after their degree. Standard post-graduation OPT is typically up to 12 months, and eligible STEM graduates can apply for a two-year STEM OPT extension.
How much is the proposed OPT fee?
The proposal would charge $70,000 the first time a college recommends a student for OPT and $30,000 for each later recommendation, including STEM OPT extensions, according to an immigration-law summary of the DHS proposal. The college, not the student, would pay.
Is the OPT fee final?
No. It is a proposed rule. It must go through public comment, and if it is finalized it would apply to recommendations made 60 days after the final rule is published. It could also face legal challenges. Check the Federal Register notice for the exact comment deadline, since reports differ.
Will the OPT fee affect students who are already on OPT?
Under the summary we reviewed, the fee would apply to OPT recommendations made on or after the rule’s effective date, if it is finalized. How the rule would treat students already in the pipeline is a question for your college’s international student office, because the coverage we reviewed does not settle it.
Can international students still apply to U.S. colleges for fall 2027?
Yes. College applications are open, and this proposal is not law. We recommend asking each college on your list, in writing, whether it plans to support OPT and STEM OPT if the fee is finalized.
What is the difference between the OPT fee and the four-year student visa rule?
They are separate. The OPT fee is a proposal that would charge colleges. The four-year rule would have replaced “duration of status” with a fixed stay of up to four years for F-1 students; a federal judge blocked it nationwide in mid-September, and DHS has appealed.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This is a proposal, not law, but it is big enough to change how schools plan. The families who navigate it best will ask schools direct questions in writing, check their own documents, and avoid irreversible decisions until the rules settle.
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Questions? hurwitzadmissions.com · nathan@hurwitzadmissions.com · (203) 613-9262
Sources
This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Allegations and proposals are labeled as such; check primary sources for the latest.
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