OPT
The Proposed $70,000 OPT Fee (2026): What It Means for F-1 Students
Visahire Team
·
Under a rule proposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), your school, not you, would be legally required to pay the $70,000 OPT fee. The proposal does not restrict schools from passing the cost on to F-1 students or to employers. The fee is not in effect and is not being collected as of October 2026. If DHS finalizes the rule, the fee would apply to students whose Optional Practical Training (OPT) recommendation from their school is dated on or after the final rule's effective date.
Who Pays the $70,000 OPT Fee: Your School, You, or Your Employer?
Your school would be legally required to pay the $70,000 OPT fee under the proposal, not you or your employer. This applies to schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to enroll F-1 students.
The proposal enforces the payment at two points in the OPT process. Your Designated School Official (DSO), the school employee who manages your F-1 record, could not enter your OPT recommendation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) until your school has paid the fee. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would not grant OPT employment authorization on Form I-765 to any student until the fee has been paid.
The proposal does not restrict how schools cover the expense. DHS states in the proposal that schools may pass the fee on to F-1 students, to all students, or to employers, and the proposed rule neither requires nor prohibits this. Under the proposal, your school is permitted to pay the fee itself, to charge it to you directly, or to charge it to your employer.
Your school decides whether you pay any of the fee. The proposal does not set a policy for this. Ask your DSO or international student office whether your school has announced a policy.
Is the $70,000 OPT Fee Final, and When Would It Take Effect?
The $70,000 OPT fee is a proposed rule, not a final rule, and no OPT fee is in effect or being collected as of October 2026. DHS, through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled "Optional Practical Training Fees" in the Federal Register on October 8, 2026. Current procedures for OPT and STEM OPT (the 24-month OPT extension for graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields) under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10) continue to apply.
If DHS finalizes the rule, the fee would take effect 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register, not 60 days after the October 8, 2026 proposal. No statutory or announced deadline requires DHS to finalize the rule by a specific date. DHS must first review public comments, and the proposal could be revised, delayed, challenged in court, or withdrawn.
For comparison, DHS's F-1 rule replacing duration of status with fixed admission periods was proposed on August 28, 2025 and published as a final rule on July 17, 2026, about 10.5 months later. That timeline is not a schedule for the OPT fee rule.
DHS states that the fees are meant to deter fraud and "visa mill" activity and to reduce the use of OPT to get around the H-1B cap and H-1B fees. Legal commentators expect the rule to face challenges arguing that DHS lacks the authority to impose a fee of this size, because the fee would function as a tax that only Congress can levy.
How to comment on the OPT fee proposal: Comments on the fees are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 9, 2026. You must submit comments through regulations.gov under docket ICEB-2026-0100. DHS states that comments sent by email or letter will not be considered. The separate December 7, 2026 deadline applies only to comments on the rule's information-collection (Paperwork Reduction Act) burden, not to the substance of the fees.
Does the OPT Fee Apply to Students Already on OPT or With Pending Applications?
Whether the OPT fee applies to you depends on the date of your DSO's OPT recommendation. The fee would apply if your recommendation is dated on or after the final rule's effective date. Under the proposal, schools would not have to pay the fee for students already engaged in OPT, students already approved for OPT, or students who received a DSO recommendation before the final rule's effective date.
Your situation | Fee under the proposal |
|---|---|
You are already working on OPT, or your OPT is already approved | No fee for that OPT period |
Your DSO recommended you for OPT before the final rule's effective date | No fee for that OPT period |
Your DSO recommendation was made and your Form I-765 was filed before the effective date, and your application is still pending | No fee for that application |
Your first OPT recommendation is dated on or after the effective date | $70,000 |
You are on OPT now, and your DSO recommends you for a STEM OPT extension on or after the effective date | A fee for the extension, even though your initial OPT was exempt. The proposal does not clearly state whether the amount would be $30,000 or $70,000 |
The proposal does not settle the fee amount for a STEM OPT extension that follows an exempt initial OPT period. The proposed rule text, as quoted in legal commentary, applies the $30,000 fee to students who previously participated in OPT and for whom the $70,000 fee has been paid. At least one source reads that wording to mean a student whose initial OPT was exempt could be charged the $70,000 initial fee for the extension instead. If your STEM OPT recommendation could be dated on or after the effective date, ask your DSO how your school reads this part of the rule.
The effective date is not known yet, because DHS has not published a final rule and has no deadline to do so. If you expect your first OPT recommendation in 2027 or later, the fee would apply to you only if a final rule has taken effect before your DSO enters that recommendation. A final rule could also change the transition rules shown in the table above.
Access 37,000+ open H-1B jobs
How Much Would STEM OPT and Pre-Completion OPT Cost Under the Proposal?
Under the proposal, your first OPT recommendation of any type, pre-completion (during your program) or post-completion (after your program ends), would carry a $70,000 fee. Each later OPT recommendation for you would carry a $30,000 fee, including the 24-month STEM OPT extension.
The $30,000 fee is not limited to STEM OPT. It would apply to any OPT period after your first one, including a second pre-completion OPT period or post-completion OPT that follows pre-completion OPT. The $100,000 figure in some headlines is the total for two OPT periods, not a separate fee.
OPT pathway | Total fees under the proposal |
|---|---|
Post-completion OPT only | $70,000 |
Post-completion OPT, then a 24-month STEM OPT extension | $100,000 ($70,000 + $30,000) |
Pre-completion OPT, then post-completion OPT | $100,000 ($70,000 + $30,000) |
Pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT, then a STEM OPT extension | $130,000 under the proposed rule text, which states no per-student cap |
The proposed rule text does not state a per-student cap on OPT fees, so a student with more than two OPT periods would appear to owe an additional $30,000 for each period after the first. One report states that an SEVP notice sent on October 8, 2026 said the $30,000 fee applies only to the first extension, which would cap fees at $100,000 per student. That report conflicts with the "any subsequent OPT" wording of the Federal Register text.
DHS also requested comment on an alternative that is not part of the main proposal. The alternative would charge the $70,000 initial fee again each time you begin OPT at a higher educational level, for example after a bachelor's degree and again after a master's degree.
What Can You Do About the Proposed OPT Fee Now?
No OPT fee is due right now, because the fee is only proposed and is not being collected. These steps can help you prepare in case DHS finalizes the rule:
Ask your DSO about your school's plans. The proposal neither requires nor prohibits schools from passing the fee to students or employers. Your international student office can tell you whether your school has set a policy.
Know when your OPT recommendation would be dated. The fee would apply to DSO recommendations dated on or after the final rule's effective date. A STEM OPT extension recommended on or after that date would also trigger a fee, and the proposal does not clearly state whether that fee would be $30,000 or $70,000 if your initial OPT was exempt.
Watch for a final rule. A final rule would take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. NAFSA, the association of international educators, opposes the proposal and maintains an OPT Fee Rule Portal with comment guidance.
Submit a comment if you want DHS to consider your view. Comments are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 9, 2026, through regulations.gov under docket ICEB-2026-0100.
The proposal covers Optional Practical Training only and does not impose a fee on Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Your DSO can tell you whether CPT is available in your program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay the $70,000 OPT fee now?
No. The $70,000 OPT fee is only proposed, and no OPT fee is in effect or being collected as of October 2026. If DHS finalizes the rule, the fee would take effect 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
Can my employer pay the OPT fee?
The proposal does not prohibit employers from paying the fee. Your school would be the party legally required to pay, and DHS states that schools may pass the fee on to students or employers.
Is the $100,000 OPT fee a separate fee?
No. The $100,000 figure is the total of the $70,000 initial fee and one $30,000 subsequent fee, for example post-completion OPT followed by a STEM OPT extension, or pre-completion OPT followed by post-completion OPT.
Would I pay $70,000 again for OPT after a master's degree?
Under the main proposal, any OPT after your first would carry a $30,000 fee. DHS requested comment on an alternative, not part of the main proposal, that would charge the $70,000 fee again each time you begin OPT at a higher educational level.
Can USCIS approve my OPT if the fee hasn't been paid?
No. Under the proposal, USCIS would not grant OPT employment authorization on Form I-765 until the applicable fee has been paid. Your DSO also could not enter your OPT recommendation in SEVIS until your school pays.
The Bottom Line on the $70,000 OPT Fee
DHS published the $70,000 OPT fee as a proposed rule on October 8, 2026, and no fee is being collected. If DHS finalizes the rule, your school would be legally required to pay the fee for OPT recommendations dated on or after the effective date. The proposal does not restrict schools from passing that cost to you or your employer. Ask your DSO how your school plans to handle the fee, and check the Federal Register for a final rule.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration and visa rules, especially around travel restrictions, the Diversity Visa program, and processing timelines, have changed unusually rapidly over the past year and remain subject to ongoing litigation. Consult a licensed immigration attorney or the official USCIS and Department of State websites for guidance on your specific situation.