Status as of October 27, 2026: This is a proposed rule. The fee is not currently payable and may change before any final rule is issued.
Foreign students hoping to work in the United States after graduation could face a formidable new financial barrier under a Trump administration proposal.
The Department of Homeland Security wants to impose a US$70,000 fee for a student’s first period of Optional Practical Training, commonly known as OPT. A subsequent period—such as a qualifying STEM extension—would require another US$30,000.
Although the student’s university would formally pay the government, the proposed rule expressly acknowledges that schools could pass the cost to students, employers or their broader student population. A school could also decline to recommend a graduate for OPT altogether.
For a Canadian graduating from an American university, the practical cost of obtaining initial OPT followed by a STEM extension could therefore reach US$100,000, before ordinary immigration application fees.
What is Optional Practical Training?
OPT allows eligible students in F-1 status to undertake temporary employment directly related to their field of study.
A graduate generally begins by asking the university’s designated school official to enter an OPT recommendation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. The student then submits an employment-authorization application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Ordinary OPT may provide up to 12 months of work authorization at each eligible education level. Graduates in qualifying science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields may seek an additional 24-month STEM extension.
Under the proposed DHS rule:
- The school would pay US$70,000 before making the first OPT recommendation for a student.
- The school would pay US$30,000 before a subsequent recommendation, including an eligible STEM extension.
- Payment would not guarantee that USCIS approves the student’s employment authorization.
- Refunds would be limited and discretionary.
- There would be no administrative appeal from a denied refund request.
- Money collected would enter the U.S. Treasury’s general fund rather than being automatically reserved for immigration enforcement or program administration.
DHS says the fees would combat fraud, protect American workers and strengthen the integrity of the student-immigration system. public-inspection.federalregister.gov
The fee would formally belong to the university—but that may be misleading
The proposal describes the SEVP-certified educational institution as the party responsible for paying the government.
That does not necessarily mean universities would absorb the cost.
DHS identifies several possible responses. A school could:
- Charge the affected foreign graduate
- Spread the cost across its student population
- Seek payment from the graduate’s prospective employer
- Absorb the fee from its own budget
- Stop making some or all OPT recommendations
This makes the policy more than a new immigration charge. It would require universities to decide which graduates, employers or academic programs are worth exposing the institution to a US$70,000 or US$30,000 payment.
Large, wealthy universities might continue providing access while transferring some of the expense. Smaller colleges could conclude that recommending foreign graduates is no longer financially viable.
A Canadian engineering graduate could face US$100,000 in fees
Consider a Canadian completing an engineering degree at an American university.
If the graduate seeks the standard post-completion OPT period, the university would first have to pay US$70,000. If the graduate later qualifies for a STEM extension, the institution would owe another US$30,000.
The total would be US$100,000.
That amount would be separate from tuition, living expenses and the normal USCIS employment-authorization fee.
The proposal does not guarantee that every university would charge the entire amount directly to the graduate. However, it does create an expense that must be borne somewhere. Even when an employer agrees to help, smaller companies, nonprofit laboratories and early-stage businesses may be unable to justify such a large payment for a temporary employee.
Canadians would not be exempt
Canadian citizens generally do not need an F-1 visa stamp to enter the United States as students. They must nevertheless possess a valid Form I-20, be admitted in F-1 status and comply with the same student-status requirements.
That visa-stamp exemption would not remove Canadian students from the proposed OPT fee system. The relevant factor is F-1 status and the university’s OPT recommendation—not whether the student needed to visit a U.S. consulate for a visa.
The U.S. State Department confirms that Canadians entering as students must present Form I-20 and that OPT requires both a school endorsement and an employment-authorization application. travel.state.gov
Canadian permanent residents who are not Canadian citizens may also require an actual U.S. visa, depending on their nationality and circumstances.
Current students would receive limited transition protection
If the proposal becomes final in its present form, DHS intends the fees to apply prospectively.
A student already working under approved OPT—or already holding an OPT recommendation made before the rule’s effective date—would not owe the new fee for that particular authorization.
However, a later recommendation could still trigger it. A student already on ordinary OPT, for example, could encounter the US$30,000 charge when seeking a STEM extension after the rule takes effect.
DHS proposes that the system begin 60 days after publication of a final rule. No final rule has yet been issued.
How much money could the policy generate?
The scale is striking.
DHS estimates that the fees could transfer approximately US$8.7 billion to US$16.9 billion annually from universities and other affected parties to the federal government. Its central annual estimate is approximately US$12.8 billion.
Over ten years, the department’s primary estimate is approximately US$109.4 billion in transfers to the Treasury.
DHS also predicts substantial economic and administrative costs, with a central estimate of approximately US$4.1 billion annually.
These figures depend on how many students continue to pursue OPT. If schools, graduates and employers withdraw because of the cost, actual government receipts would be lower—but so would foreign-graduate participation in the American labour market.
Who gains and who loses?
Potential beneficiaries
The U.S. Treasury would receive billions of dollars if participation remained strong.
Some American graduates could face less competition for entry-level positions. Universities and major employers capable of paying the fees might also gain greater influence over which foreign graduates remain able to work.
Canada could benefit indirectly if graduates decide to build their careers north of the border. Canadian employers, universities and research organizations could gain access to talent that might otherwise have remained in the United States.
Those facing the greatest costs
Foreign graduates would face fewer and potentially much more expensive routes into the American workforce.
Universities could lose international enrolment if students conclude that American degrees no longer offer a realistic period of post-graduation employment.
Startups, smaller businesses, hospitals, laboratories and nonprofit organizations could lose access to graduates they cannot afford to sponsor under the new system.
American classmates could also bear part of the expense if universities distribute the fees across tuition or general student charges.
Analysis: a fee or a barrier?
The proposed amounts bear little resemblance to an ordinary administrative processing fee.
A flat US$70,000 charge does not vary according to the student’s income, employer, occupation, evidence of fraud risk or the government’s cost of reviewing the individual application. The money would not even be automatically dedicated to investigating OPT misconduct.
In practice, the proposal would operate as an economic filter. Graduates associated with wealthy institutions and well-financed employers would have a better chance of proceeding, while those at smaller schools or entering lower-paid fields could be excluded.
It would also shift immigration selection power toward universities. A designated school official’s recommendation is already essential to OPT, but the proposed payment would give institutions a powerful financial reason to ration those recommendations.
The administration may argue that discouraging participation protects American workers and makes fraud easier to control. Critics are likely to question whether DHS has sufficient statutory authority to impose fees of this magnitude and whether the department adequately considered less restrictive enforcement measures. Any eventual lawsuit would depend on the final rule and its supporting administrative record.
What affected students should do now
Students should not assume that the US$70,000 fee is already in force.
Those studying in the United States should:
- Speak with their designated school official about anticipated OPT and STEM-extension dates.
- Determine whether an OPT recommendation could occur before any final rule takes effect.
- Ask whether the institution has begun planning how it would handle or distribute the proposed charges.
- Avoid making irreversible education or employment decisions based solely on an unfinished proposal.
- Submit a specific, evidence-based public comment if the rule would affect them, their university or their employer.
Public comments on the principal proposal are due November 9, 2026, through docket ICEB-2026-0100 on Regulations.gov. Comments concerning the associated information collection are due December 7.
The bottom line
No foreign graduate currently owes this new fee.
Nevertheless, the proposal is consequential because it could transform OPT from a broadly accessible post-graduation program into an option largely restricted to wealthy institutions, employers and families.
For Canadians considering an American education, the calculation would change significantly. The question would no longer be only whether they can afford the degree. It would also be whether their university—or someone acting through it—can finance a fee of as much as US$100,000 for the opportunity to work after graduation.
Verified sources
All sources below are official U.S. government publications.
- Department of Homeland Security proposed rule — Optional Practical Training Fees
The primary source for the proposed US$70,000 initial OPT fee, US$30,000 subsequent fee, transition provisions, refund rules, projected revenue and economic analysis.
Read the proposed rule in the Federal Register public-inspection.federalregister.gov - Official PDF of the proposed regulation
Useful for downloading or preserving the complete regulatory text and DHS analysis.
Download the official proposed-rule PDF public-inspection.federalregister.gov - Regulations.gov public docket — ICEB-2026-0100
Contains the proposal, supporting materials and submitted public comments. Comments on the principal proposal are due November 9, 2026.
View the official public-comment docket - USCIS — Optional Practical Training for F-1 students
Explains eligibility, application procedures, employment authorization and the relationship between OPT employment and a student’s field of study.
USCIS Optional Practical Training guidance - DHS Study in the States — STEM OPT Hub
Official guidance covering the 24-month STEM extension, student and employer responsibilities, Form I-983 and designated school official requirements.
DHS STEM OPT Hub - U.S. State Department — Student visas
Confirms that OPT requires an endorsed Form I-20 and an Employment Authorization Document. It also states that Canadian citizens generally do not need a visa stamp to enter as students but must present a valid Form I-20. travel.state.gov
State Department student-visa guidance - U.S. State Department — Canadian and Bermudian citizens
Explains the general visa exemption for Canadian citizens and clarifies that Canadian permanent residents do not automatically receive the same exemption.
Visa requirements for Canadian citizens and permanent residents - Electronic Code of Federal Regulations — F-1 student employment rules
The underlying regulations governing practical training and F-1 student status appear in 8 CFR §214.2(f).
Read 8 CFR §214.2(f)
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