The Donald Trump administration has proposed a $70,000 fee for international students participating in the US Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, a move that could significantly affect foreign students, including thousands of Indians seeking to work in the country after graduation.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), proposed the fee as part of a broader effort to tighten rules governing foreign students and visa holders. DHS stated that the measure is aimed at combating fraud, strengthening the integrity of the system and protecting US workers.
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Under the proposal, the fee would be associated with an F-1 student's first participation in OPT, while a $30,000 fee would apply to subsequent OPT participation, including additional training.
Importantly, the proposed charges would be paid by SEVP-certified educational institutions when they recommend students for OPT, rather than being a $70,000 government application fee directly payable by each student.
What Is OPT?
Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows eligible F-1 international students to undertake temporary employment directly related to their field of study. Under the existing system, students can generally receive up to 12 months of OPT at each education level. Students with qualifying STEM degrees can receive an additional 24 month STEM OPT extension, potentially giving them up to three years of practical training after completing their studies.
OPT is particularly important to international students because it provides a period in which they can gain US work experience after completing their degrees and, for many, pursue long-term employment pathways such as the H-1B visa.
How Would The $70,000 + $30,000 Fee Work?
Under the proposed framework, a school recommending an F-1 student for their initial OPT participation would have to pay $70,000. This applies whether the first OPT is pre-completion OPT or post-completion OPT.
If the student has already used OPT and the $70,000 fee has been paid, a subsequent OPT recommendation would carry a $30,000 fee. This includes the STEM OPT extension.
The proposal could therefore result in $100,000 in total fees. The current OPT-related cost for students is roughly $500, making the proposed initial charge dramatically higher, Reuters reported.
Why Is The Trump Administration Proposing This?
DHS stated that the proposed fees are intended to address what it describes as fraud and abuse within the OPT system. The department has argued that the measure would ensure that employers, students and educational institutions engage in activities consistent with the conditions attached to F-1 student status.
DHS argues that it has identified cases involving school officials, employers, designated school officials and F-1 allegedly exploiting OPT rules, including problematic worksites and "pay-to-stay" arrangements.
The department has characterised the OPT as having been turned into a potential pipeline for cheaper foreign labour, arguing that American workers should not have to compete with a system that is being misused.
Why Could This Hurt Indian Students?
India is currently the largest source of international students in the US. According to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors 2025 data, 363,019 Indian students were in the US during the 2024-2025 academic year, while 57 percent of international students were studying in STEM fields.
This makes the proposal especially consequential for Indian students pursuing engineering, computer science, technology, data science and other STEM related courses.
Reuters reported that the OPT-to-H-1B pathway has been particularly important for students from India and China, with US technology companies relying significantly on skilled workers who come through this pipeline.
The proposed fee could therefore affect the decision making of universities as well as prospective Indian students who choose US universities with the expectation of gaining work experience after graduation.
What Does It Mean For Indians?
For Indian students planning to study in the US, the proposal could make the post-study work pathway significantly more uncertain. While Indian students would not currently have to personally pay a $70,000 OPT fee, universities could face a major financial burden when recommending them for the programme.
That could potentially lead some institutions to reconsider how they handle OPT recommendations, while students may have to factor the policy into decisions about studying in the US.
For students pursuing STEM degrees, the potential impact could be particularly significant because OPT has traditionally provided an important route from US education to employment and, for some graduates, eventually to H-1B status.
For now, however, Indian students should not treat the $70,000 figure as a fee they are required to pay. The DHS measure remains a proposed rule and could be changed, withdrawn or challenged before it takes effect.
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