The Department of Homeland Security's OPT Fee Rule Cleared White House Review

The White House has finished reviewing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal to charge fees for Optional Practical Training (OPT), the program that lets international graduates work in the U.S. after finishing their degrees. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) concluded its review on Sept. 11, clearing the rule “consistent with change.”

What cleared review?

The regulatory filing doesn’t list a fee amount, who would pay it, or whether any applicants would be exempt. However, it has been widely reported that the new fee will be $100,000, similar to the $100,000 H-1B fee introduced last year. Those details will only become clear when DHS publishes the proposed rule in the Federal Register, which it can now do, following White House review, at any time.

What would change for students?

Today, OPT applicants file Form I-765 and pay $520 by mail or $470 online. Post-completion OPT runs for 12 months, and graduates in qualifying STEM fields can apply for a 24-month extension, for up to three years of work authorization.

A fee anywhere near the reported figure would dramatically change the math for most of that group, making this immigration pathway all but unaffordable for most students. Roughly 300,000 F-1 students held OPT work authorization last year, many of them in entry-level roles. OPT is also the standard bridge to an H-1B, and it’s not clear if the fee is in lieu of or in addition to the $100,000 H-1B fee.

What should students and employers do now?

Nothing about OPT eligibility, timing, or filing fees has changed. Applications filed today are processed under current rules at current costs.

This is a developing story. We’ll continue to update this article as more information gets released.