The Trump administration has proposed a steep new fee for international students seeking temporary work opportunities in the United States, with schools potentially required to pay up to $70,000 for each student’s initial application.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS, proposed the fee as part of broader efforts to tighten immigration controls and increase scrutiny of programmes used by foreign students to gain work experience after completing their studies.
Under the proposal, schools would pay $70,000 for each student’s initial application for Optional Practical Training, OPT, and $30,000 for each renewal.
OPT allows eligible international students to work in the United States in jobs related to their fields of study while they are in school or after graduation.
International students are generally eligible for up to one year of OPT after completing their studies.
Graduates in qualifying science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields can receive an additional two years under the STEM OPT extension.
The proposed charges could affect Nigerian students and other international graduates who depend on OPT to gain professional experience in the US after completing their education.
US universities also rely heavily on international students for tuition revenue, while technology companies and other employers recruit foreign graduates for specialised and technical positions.
Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, an association representing international education, said OPT provides international students with practical experience while helping employers address labour shortages, particularly in STEM-related fields.
“Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership,” Aw said in a written statement.
DHS, however, said the proposed fee is aimed at addressing what it considers fraud and abuse within the OPT programme.
The department described OPT as a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor,” signaling a tougher approach to a programme that has long provided international graduates with a route into the US workforce.
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The public will have 60 days to submit comments on the proposal before DHS decides whether to finalise the rule.
The measure could also face legal challenges from higher education organisations and business groups, which may delay its implementation if lawsuits are filed.
The proposed OPT fee is part of a wider immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, which has introduced several measures affecting international students and foreign workers.
Last year, the administration terminated the legal status of thousands of international students, with some later detained or deported.
The administration also finalised a rule during the summer that sought to limit international students’ stay in the US to four years unless they obtained federal approval to remain longer.
Higher education leaders criticised that measure, warning that it would create additional administrative burdens for universities and noting that some academic programmes take more than four years to complete.
A federal court blocked the rule from taking effect in September.
Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, said the proposed OPT fee was likely to face legal challenges.
He compared the proposal with a $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B work visas, which are widely used by technology companies and universities to recruit skilled foreign workers.
Rand argued that imposing high fees would not address the underlying issues surrounding skilled immigration.
“When we educate international students at our universities, and they want to work and apply their talents here after graduating, of course we should embrace them, not use an exorbitant fee as a pretext to send them packing,” Rand said in an email.
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