Immigration Update: DHS Proposes $70,000 and $30,000 OPT Fees - The School Pays, and Nothing Changes Today
What changed
On October 8, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking, "Optional Practical Training Fees," in the Federal Register at 91 FR 64566 (FR Doc. 2026-20660; RIN 1653-AB01; DHS Docket No. ICEB-2026-0100; 8 CFR Part 214). The document was filed for public inspection the day before, on October 7, 2026.
The rule proposes two new fees for Optional Practical Training. In the words of the rule's own summary: "$70,000 for initial OPT; and $30,000 for any subsequent OPT."
Key mechanics, as the proposal describes them:
The school pays, not the student. The fee is paid by the SEVP-certified institution, and it must be paid before the Designated School Official enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. USCIS would not grant employment authorization until the applicable fee is paid.
$70,000 is a one-time amount tied to a student's first OPT recommendation of any type. The $30,000 applies to any later OPT request after the initial fee has been paid, including a STEM OPT extension.
The fee attaches to the recommendation, not the employer. Changing employers during an authorized period triggers no new fee; a new recommendation does.
Schools may pass the cost on to students or to employers. The rule does not require an institution to absorb it.
Refunds are narrow. A school may request one only before an employment authorization document has been issued, and SEVP decides case by case.
This is a proposal, not law. No fee is payable today, and no pending case is affected. If a final rule is ever issued, the proposal states it would take effect 60 days after that final rule publishes.
Dates. Comments on the proposed rule are due November 9, 2026. A separate Paperwork Reduction Act comment period, covering the information collection only, runs to December 7, 2026. The two are not interchangeable.
What applicants should know
Secondary coverage of this rule will almost certainly describe a $70,000 charge on students. That is not what the document says. Three points are worth holding onto.
First, if you are already on OPT, or you already hold a DSO recommendation, the proposed fee does not reach you. It would apply to recommendations dated on or after the effective date of a future final rule. Nothing changes for an authorization already approved, or already recommended.
Second, nothing is owed now. No fee can be collected on the strength of a proposed rule, and any request for payment citing this rule today should be questioned before anyone pays it.
Third, timing is a planning point rather than a cause for panic. Because the carve-out turns on the date of the DSO recommendation, a student weighing when to request OPT has a concrete reason to speak with their Designated School Official now, while the rule is still only proposed.
The proposal does not cover Curricular Practical Training, J-1 academic training, or any other nonimmigrant or immigrant category.
Schools, employers and students who want their experience on the record can file a comment through the Federal Register docket before November 9.
One unrelated date worth keeping in view: the FY 2027 inflation-adjusted H.R. 1 immigration fees take effect on October 16, 2026. Filings postmarked on or after that date without the correct fee will be rejected.
How we can help
Our consultants are former U.S. diplomats who spent their careers adjudicating visa cases inside embassies and consulates. For a student, a Designated School Official or an employer, this week's question is not what the headline says. It is what a particular case looks like against a rule that is still open for comment. We read the rule itself, explain what it does and does not reach, and help you plan around the dates that actually bind.
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