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The proposed $70,000 OPT fee: who pays and how to comment

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In short: a proposal, and nothing has changed today

Status, checked 2026-10-09: still a proposed rule. No final rule and no correction has been published in the Federal Register, and the public comment period closes on November 9, 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice; check with your school's DSO or an immigration attorney. It reports what the proposal's text says, quotes it where the wording matters, and makes no prediction about how it ends.

On October 8, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled "Optional Practical Training Fees" (FR Doc. 2026-20660, docket ICEB-2026-0100). An NPRM is a draft put out for public comment. Afterwards DHS may publish a final rule, change the proposal, or not go ahead with it. Even if a final rule is published, the draft says it would take effect 60 days later. You can read it on the Federal Register or as the official PDF.

What the proposal says

The rule's summary sets the fees at "$70,000 for initial OPT; and $30,000 for any subsequent OPT", for each F-1 student. Item by item:

ItemWhat the proposal says
First OPTThe school pays $70,000 the first time a student is recommended for any type of OPT, pre-completion or post-completion
Each later OPTThe school pays $30,000 before each later OPT recommendation for a student who has already done OPT and for whom the $70,000 was paid: another pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT or a STEM OPT extension
The rule's own examplePre-completion OPT followed by post-completion OPT: $70,000 plus $30,000, or $100,000 in all
Changing employers"The OPT fee is not triggered by a change in employer"; what triggers it is the school's recommendation
CPTThe proposal "does not address CPT"

Getting the money back: under the draft, a school can ask SEVP to return a fee only while the student has not been issued the work permit (EAD) for that OPT. SEVP decides case by case, its decision cannot be appealed, and nothing is returned once the EAD is issued.

DHS also asks for comments on an alternative that is not in the draft text: charging the $70,000 again when a student moves up a degree level, for example OPT after a bachelor's degree and again after a master's.

DHS states the purpose in these words: "to encourage institutions to be more selective and deliberate in their OPT recommendations."

One difference in wording is worth knowing about. SEVP's announcement on Study in the States describes the $30,000 as a charge "for the second year of practical training, with no additional fees in subsequent years". The proposed regulatory text attaches the $30,000 to each "subsequent recommendation". The two do not say quite the same thing. If the difference matters for you, ask your DSO, or ask DHS to clarify it in a comment.

Who pays, and could it be passed on?

  • The school pays. An SEVP-certified school pays before the DSO enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. In the rule's words, "no DSO would be able to enter an OPT recommendation without the school having paid the applicable fee."
  • No payment, no work permit. The proposed text says USCIS "may not grant employment authorization" to a student whose school has not paid the applicable fees.
  • It could be passed on. DHS "acknowledges that the schools may pass the financial obligation of this proposed fee onto F-1 nonimmigrant students, all students, or employers." The draft proposes no specific limits on how schools raise the money, as long as they follow other applicable laws.
  • A school can decline to pay. The full sentence: "DSOs are not required to recommend F-1 nonimmigrants for OPT and can elect not to pay the fee for a particular F-1 nonimmigrant who is not a strong candidate for OPT or whose participation in OPT could adversely affect the integrity of the program."

The draft does not say what any school would do. Only your school can tell you its plans.

Which OPT recommendations it would cover

Everything below is the draft's wording, not a rule in force, and none of it says what you personally would be charged.

  • When. A final rule would take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. There is no date for a final rule, and no certainty there will be one.
  • Where it starts. The proposed text has schools pay $70,000 "for each alien who receives a DSO recommendation for OPT that is dated on or after [60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL RULE]."
  • Before that date. The rule says schools would not have to pay the fee for a student's OPT if the student is already doing previously approved OPT, was approved for OPT before the effective date, or received a DSO recommendation before it.
  • After that date. The rule says that "if the F-1 nonimmigrant student submits a subsequent request for OPT on or after the effective date of the final rule, the fee provisions as outlined in this proposed rule will apply."
  • The unclear case. A first OPT before the effective date, and a STEM OPT extension after it. The proposed text ties the $30,000 to a student who has "previously participated in OPT and paid the initial OPT fee of $70,000", and no fee was paid for an OPT recommended before the effective date. The proposal does not say clearly which amount would apply. Ask your DSO; it is also a fair question to raise in a comment.

For scale, these are DHS's own figures from the rule:

  • 194,554 F-1 students were granted EADs for pre- or post-completion OPT and reported working for an employer in 2024;
  • 165,524 F-1 students were participating in STEM OPT by 2024;
  • 2,478 schools had students in OPT, counting OPT authorizations with employment start dates in 2022 through 2024.

How to comment

  • Online only. Comments go through regulations.gov, docket ICEB-2026-0100. The rule's instructions: search regulations.gov for "ICEB-2026-0100", open the rule, and click "Comment". If you cannot use regulations.gov, the rule says to contact the office it names for other instructions.
  • Deadline. November 9, 2026, by "11:59 p.m. ET of the last day".
  • No email or letters. Comments sent any other way "will not be considered comments".
  • Language. In English, or with an English translation.
  • What to include. The rule says each comment must give the docket number, the specific section of the rule it is about, and a reason for each suggestion, and asks for data or information that supports it. Facts from your own situation, such as your field, your OPT timing or what your school has told you, are that kind of information.
  • Comments are public. DHS posts them on regulations.gov and says it "will include any personal information you provide". Leave out anything you would not publish, such as your SEVIS number or contact details.
  • A second date. Comments on the rule's information-collection part (under the Paperwork Reduction Act) are due December 7, 2026, and must include the OMB Control Number. Those comments can go to the same docket or to OMB, in the ways the rule lists. That date is for that part only, not for the whole rule.

Not to be confused with

  • The proposed $103,265 H-1B fee. A separate proposed rule, published August 25, 2026. The employer would pay it when filing a cap-subject H-1B petition. Its comment period closed on September 24, 2026, and as of October 9 it is still a proposal. See the Federal Register.
  • The $100,000 payment under the H-1B proclamations. This comes from a presidential proclamation, not from this rule. Proclamation 11069, published September 23, 2026, extends the 2025 proclamation until September 21, 2027: see the proclamation PDF. Whether it applies to you is a question for your DSO or an attorney.
  • The fixed period of admission rule. A final rule whose effective date a court has postponed. USCIS's Form I-765 page (last reviewed 10/07/2026) says the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered the postponement on September 14, 2026.

What it means for your job search now

  • Nothing changes today. By the draft's own terms, the fees would apply only to recommendations dated on or after the effective date of a final rule, and there is no final rule. The current OPT rules are on SEVP's Study in the States OPT page.
  • If your timing is close, ask your DSO. If your OPT or STEM OPT recommendation could fall near some future effective date, ask your DSO now rather than working it out from news coverage, this article included.
  • Where to follow it. A final rule, a correction or an extended comment period would each be published in the Federal Register, and Study in the States posts announcements too.
  • This page will be updated. If the rule moves, we will update this article and show the date of the change.
  • Applications still ask. Job applications will keep asking about work authorization and sponsorship in the meantime. What several university offices advise is in How to answer the sponsorship question on OPT.

Sources and corrections

Written by CoolMind. Each page was checked on 2026-10-09:

This is not legal advice; check with your school's DSO or an immigration attorney. If the rule moves on, or you find a mistake here, tell us through feedback and we will correct it.