US plan for a $70,000 OPT fee: public comments close on 9 November; Indians hold nearly half of STEM OPT places

Indian students holding F-1 visas in America have until 11.59 pm Eastern Time on Monday, 9 November, or 10.29 am on Tuesday in India, to comment on a US government plan that would put a $70,000 OPT fee on Optional Practical Training, the work permit many of them use after graduating. The plan is still a proposal, and nothing changes for students while it is under review.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put the proposal in the Federal Register on Thursday, 8 October. A college certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program would owe $70,000 per student before its designated school official could recommend that student’s first OPT, whether before or after finishing the course. Any later spell of OPT, including the 24-month STEM extension, would cost the college another $30,000. USCIS would not issue the work permit until the money was paid.

Who would pay

The bill goes to the college, not the student, but DHS says in the notice that schools could pass it on to F-1 students, to all students or to employers. The department says the charge is meant to fight fraud and to bring OPT in line with the cost of H-1B visas. It would cover only OPT recommendations issued from the day the rule takes effect, which DHS proposes as 60 days after it publishes the final version.

India sends more students to the US than any other country. The government’s student data for 2024 counted 422,335 active student records from India, and Indians made up 48 per cent of the 165,524 students on STEM OPT that year. By Saturday, 7 November, the docket showed 6,848 public comments.

Comments can be filed on regulations.gov under docket ICEB-2026-0100; the Federal Register notice carries the full text. A separate window on the paperwork the rule would need stays open until Monday, 7 December. DHS has to consider the comments before it can publish a final rule.