On October 7, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing new fees for Optional Practical Training (OPT). It explains that schools would be required to pay a $70,000 fee for each F-1 student’s initial OPT, and a $30,000 fee for any subsequent OPT (including STEM OPT). Under the Proposed Rule, SEVP-certified schools are required to pay the fee prior to the recommendation of F-1 nonimmigrant students for OPT in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and before F-1 students apply for employment authorization with USCIS.
The Proposed Rule allows universities to decide the source of the fee and permit universities to pass the fee to the student or employer.
DHS cites “combat[ting] fraud, strengthen[ing] the integrity of the immigration system, and protect[ing] U.S. workers” as the purpose of the proposed rule, stating, “With the increased number of F-1 nonimmigrant students being recommended by DSOs for OPT, SEVP has encountered more institutions, DSOs, employers, and F-1 nonimmigrant students engaged in schemes to exploit the current OPT regulations for fraudulent purposes.” The Department’s allegations are based on reports which “indicate that there has been widespread use of OPT as an informal and unlimited employment benefit that has little to or no relationship to an F-1 nonimmigrant student’s program of study.”
Read the proposed rule here. Comments are due on or before November 9, 2026 and must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal and identify Docket No. ICEB-2026-0100.