DHS Proposes $70,000 OPT Fee for F-1 Students in NPRM

On 7 October 2026 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Optional Practical Training fees. On 8 October 2026 DHS published the NPRM in the Federal Register as document 2026-20660. The agency is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inside DHS. The docket number is ICEB-2026-0100. The RIN is 1653-AB01. The proposal amends 8 CFR Part 214. Read the Federal Register text as the controlling source. Study in the States also published a short post. Prefer the NPRM SUMMARY and body wherever wording differs.

The proposal is not final and is not in force today. Current OPT rules continue until a final rule takes effect. Public comments run for 30 days from publication, from 8 October 2026 through 9 November 2026, on regulations.gov under docket ICEB-2026-0100. Paperwork Reduction Act and information collection comments are due by 7 December 2026.

Under the NPRM, each SEVP-certified school would pay fees per F-1 student before any Designated School Official recommends OPT in SEVIS. The proposed amounts are $70,000 for initial OPT and $30,000 for any subsequent OPT. Subsequent OPT covers any type after the initial period, including another pre-completion OPT period, post-completion OPT, or a STEM OPT extension. Study in the States briefly described the second charge as a fee for the second year with no further fees in later years. The NPRM SUMMARY and body state $30,000 for any subsequent OPT. Follow the Federal Register wording when you file comments.

Who pays and when payment is due

The school pays under the rule text. The student does not pay DHS directly under the proposed regulatory language. DHS acknowledges schools pass costs to students, to all students, or to employers. Plan for higher tuition, special assessments, or employer cost sharing if your campus adopts those practices after a final rule.

The fee is not tied to a named employer. The fee is triggered when the school recommends the student for any type of OPT. The school must pay before the DSO enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. A DSO has no authority to enter a recommendation without payment. USCIS will not grant employment authorization or an Employment Authorization Document if the school has not paid.

Fees would be deposited in the U.S. Treasury as miscellaneous receipts under 31 U.S.C. 3302. ICE does not retain the funds under the authority cited for these OPT fees.

Scope: OPT only

The proposal covers Optional Practical Training only. Pre-completion OPT and post-completion OPT fall inside the fee structure. Curricular Practical Training sits outside the proposal. CPT continues under current rules unless a later action changes CPT.

Current OPT eligibility still matters for context. An F-1 student becomes eligible after one full academic year of full-time post-secondary study at an SEVP-certified school. Training must be directly related to the major. Students receive up to 12 months of OPT per education level. STEM degrees often receive an additional 24-month STEM OPT extension. The student needs a DSO recommendation, then Form I-765 with USCIS. STEM OPT also needs Form I-983 as a training plan.

Many students use OPT as a bridge toward H-1B status. Cap-gap rules amended in 2024 give automatic status and EAD extension in defined cases for F-1 students on OPT with a pending H-1B petition. Do not treat OPT as a substitute for H-1B process rules. H-1B annual caps remain 65,000 regular visas plus 20,000 for U.S. master degree holders. DHS set the initial OPT fee high in part to align roughly with H-1B fee deterrence so OPT is not used to bypass H-1B caps and fees.

Numbers DHS cites

Official statistics in the NPRM draw on SEVIS By the Numbers 2024. In calendar year 2024, 194,554 F-1 students received EADs for pre-completion or post-completion OPT and reported work for an employer, compared with 160,627 in 2023. In 2024, 165,524 F-1 students were in STEM OPT. As of June 2026, about 6,186 schools held SEVP certification.

DHS and SEVP present a fraud rationale. Homeland Security Investigations identified more than 10,000 F-1 students on OPT linked to highly suspect employers. Findings included empty buildings, pay-to-stay schemes, residential addresses listed as worksites, and phantom employees. Northern Virginia site visits in October 2025 found staged worksites. In 2020 ICE arrested 15 students for OPT fraud. Shell-company schemes appear in the NPRM narrative. DHS states the agency lacks capacity to operate OPT consistent with fraud prevention and U.S. worker protection without the fees, and warns of a full program shutdown as an alternative path.

Proposed transition and refunds

If finalized, the final rule would take effect 60 days after publication of the final rule. The $70,000 fee would apply to DSO recommendations dated on or after the effective date. Later subsequent recommendations would draw the $30,000 fee after the initial fee has already been paid for the student.

Refund rules are narrow. A school requests a refund only when the student has not received an EAD for the OPT period tied to the payment. Once an EAD issues, no refund follows. SEVP decides each refund request case by case. The decision is final and not appealable. The DSO must remove the OPT recommendation in SEVIS before the refund request.

What you should do now

Treat the NPRM as a proposal in comment. Current OPT filing steps stay in place until a final rule sets a new effective date. Confirm your campus policy on how any future fee would be funded. Track SEVIS recommendation timing against any future effective date.

• Read Federal Register document 2026-20660 and the DHS news release dated 7 October 2026.
• Open regulations.gov docket ICEB-2026-0100 and submit comments before 9 November 2026 if you plan to comment.
• Send Paperwork Reduction Act comments by 7 December 2026 if you address information collection burdens.
• Ask your international student office how the school would fund $70,000 and $30,000 charges if the rule becomes final.
• Map your education level, STEM eligibility, Form I-765 timeline, and any planned STEM Form I-983 against current rules.
• Do not rely on Study in the States alone for the subsequent-fee wording. Prefer the NPRM text.

Schools face hard choices if the rule becomes final. About 6,186 SEVP-certified schools exist as of June 2026. Not every campus will fund every OPT recommendation at $70,000. Students who expect automatic recommendations should prepare for stricter campus review and possible cost sharing.

Employers who hire F-1 talent on OPT should watch campus funding models. The fee is not an employer filing fee under the proposed text. Cap-gap planning for H-1B still depends on timely petitions and current automatic extension rules.

For pre-completion OPT, the same $70,000 initial charge would apply when the first OPT recommendation of any type occurs. A later post-completion recommendation for the same student would then draw $30,000 as subsequent OPT under the NPRM body. STEM OPT extension recommendations after an initial OPT fee would also draw $30,000.

USCIS adjudication still turns on Form I-765 after the DSO recommendation. Under the proposal, missing school payment blocks employment authorization. Keep copies of any future payment proof your DSO places on the Form I-20. Confirm SEVIS shows the recommendation only after payment clears.

DHS invites data, views, and arguments on all aspects of the NPRM. Cite specific sections of document 2026-20660. English comments, or English translations, are required. Online comments must arrive by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the last day of the comment period.

Primary sources to bookmark are the DHS news release of 7 October 2026, the Study in the States post on the proposed OPT fees, Federal Register NPRM 2026-20660 published 8 October 2026, and regulations.gov docket ICEB-2026-0100. Reread the Federal Register before you rely on secondary summaries. No school owes $70,000 or $30,000 today. Watch for a future final rule, a 60-day delayed effective date, and clear SEVP instructions before any payment obligation begins.

If you hold F-1 status now, continue OPT under present regulations. Maintain full-time study until program completion when post-completion OPT is your goal. Keep training related to your major. File Form I-765 on the schedule your DSO gives you. For STEM OPT, complete Form I-983 with your employer and DSO before the STEM recommendation. None of those present steps change solely because DHS published an NPRM.

Watch regulations.gov docket ICEB-2026-0100 for updates. Watch Study in the States and SEVIS broadcast messages for school-facing guidance after DHS reviews comments.