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The proposed charge would apply to the Optional Practical Training program and could sharply increase the cost for international graduates or their employers to secure post-graduation work authorization.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of Homeland Security is considering imposing a $100,000 fee on international students who seek permission to work in the United States after graduating from American colleges and universities.
The proposal would be tied to the Optional Practical Training program, commonly known as OPT, which allows foreign graduates to work in the United States for one to three years after completing their studies, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Approximately 419,000 foreign nationals participated in the program in 2024, the most recent year for which data are available.
A fee of that size could discourage international students from attending American universities or remaining in the country after graduation. OPT is one of the principal routes through which foreign students enter the U.S. workforce, particularly in high-skilled industries.
The proposal remains under discussion within DHS, and it is unclear whether the White House will approve it. Officials have also not determined whether the fee would be paid by graduates or by the companies seeking to employ them.
The deliberations are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten legal immigration programs and prioritize employment opportunities for American workers.
The proposal emerged one week after the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the administration from imposing a separate $100,000 fee on employer-sponsored H-1B visas.
In a September 2025 proclamation, President Donald Trump argued that employers had abused the H-1B program by hiring foreign workers at lower wages while reducing pay and employment opportunities for Americans.
The appeals court left intact a June ruling by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, an appointee of former President Barack Obama. Sorokin concluded that the H-1B charge amounted to a tax, a power reserved for Congress rather than the president.
The potential OPT fee would likely be connected to a new requirement announced by the administration earlier this month directing international students to apply for visa extensions before participating in the post-graduation employment program.
Previously, student visas generally remained valid for the duration of a participant’s academic studies and for as many as three additional years of authorized employment.
DHS is also developing a wider regulation that would rewrite the OPT program’s rules. The department could release the proposed changes as early as this fall.
“No policies should be considered final until formally announced,” a DHS spokeswoman told the Journal. “At DHS we are always having conversations about how to use all tools in our arsenal to protect the integrity of our legal immigration system.”
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