The Trump administration is considering charging as much as $100,000 for international graduates to work in the US after completing their studies, a proposal that could close off a route used by more than 140,000 Indians last year.

The fee is being discussed within the Department of Homeland Security and would apply to Optional Practical Training, or OPT, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, 30 July, citing people familiar with the matter.

No decision has been made. The administration has not said whether students, employers or universities would pay, whether the charge would be levied once or more than once, or whether current OPT participants would be exempt.

A White House official said there was “no imminent policy change” but did not deny that the proposal was under consideration, according to the South China Morning Post.

No rule has been published and no student is currently required to pay the charge.

At Friday’s exchange rate, $100,000 is worth about ₹95.5 lakh. For many Indian families, that would be comparable with, or greater than, the cost of the degree itself.

OPT allows students on F-1 visas to take temporary employment directly related to their field of study. Most graduates receive up to 12 months of work authorization. Those with eligible degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (or STEM) may apply for a further 24 months, giving them as long as three years in the US workforce.

The program does not guarantee an H-1B visa or permanent residence. It gives graduates time to gain experience and, in many cases, find an employer willing to sponsor an H-1B application. The annual H-1B allocation is capped at 65,000, with a further 20,000 places for people holding advanced degrees from US institutions.

Why Indians Would Be Hit Hardest

India is now the largest source of international students in the US. American colleges and universities hosted 363,019 Indian students in the 2024-25 academic year, up 10% from a year earlier, according to the Institute of International Education.

Of that total, 143,740 were working under OPT, a 47% increase from the previous year. Indians accounted for almost half of all OPT participants and nearly 40% of the Indian student population in the US, Open Doors data show.

The concentration is even greater in STEM. Of the 165,524 foreign graduates participating in STEM OPT in 2024, 48% were from India, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A $100,000 charge would alter the calculation for students before they even apply to an American university. Many Indian students pursue master’s degrees in computer science, engineering, analytics and business with the expectation that OPT will allow them to work after graduation and begin repaying education loans.

If graduates must pay the fee themselves, the program would be beyond the reach of most of them. If employers must pay, large technology or financial companies might absorb the charge for a small number of recruits, but startups, universities, hospitals and other smaller employers would struggle to justify it for an entry-level hire.

Making universities pay would shift the strain to institutions that already depend on international tuition revenue. Foreign students generally receive less financial aid than Americans and often pay the full published price, particularly at public universities.

International students contributed $42.9 billion to the US economy and supported 355,736 jobs during the 2024-25 academic year, according to NAFSA’s economic analysis. In a 2025 survey, 92% of US institutions said foreign students would probably choose another country if OPT were unavailable.

The Case Against OPT

The idea is consistent with a review of OPT already under way in Washington.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Republican Senator Eric Schmitt in a letter released in February that the department was examining whether the program’s scope and duration “appropriately serves US labor market, tax, and national security interests and remains aligned with congressional intent.”

Joseph Edlow, who now leads US Citizenship and Immigration Services, also said during his Senate confirmation process that he wanted to remove post-graduation work authorization for F-1 students.

Critics argue that OPT has grown from a training benefit into a large guest-worker program without an annual cap. They also say it gives employers a financial reason to prefer some foreign graduates over Americans.

F-1 students who remain classified as non-resident aliens for tax purposes are generally exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes during their first five calendar years in the US. The employer avoids its corresponding share of those payroll taxes. The exemption does not necessarily last throughout a three-year STEM OPT period because a student can become a resident alien for tax purposes after the five-year threshold.

Republican Representative Glenn Grothman introduced legislation in May that would end the payroll-tax exemption. He called it a “loophole” that placed American workers at a disadvantage.

The administration has also cited fraud. Its new student-visa rule says ICE had identified more than 10,000 cases of potential OPT fraud by May 2026. Potential cases are not the same as confirmed violations, but officials have pointed to fake employers and inaccurate employment records as reasons for closer oversight.

OPT already carries conditions. Employment must relate to the graduate’s course of study. STEM participants must work for an employer enrolled in E-Verify and complete a formal training plan. Ordinary OPT permits no more than 90 days of unemployment, while the combined limit for graduates using the STEM extension is 150 days.

Supporters say fraud should be addressed through enforcement rather than by making legitimate employment unaffordable. A 2019 study cited by NAFSA found no evidence that foreign STEM graduates on OPT reduced employment opportunities for American workers.

The Legal Question

OPT was created by regulation rather than a specific act of Congress, giving the executive branch considerable authority over its design. That authority is not unlimited.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the legality of post-graduation OPT and its STEM extension in 2022, rejecting a challenge brought by an organization representing American technology workers. The decision confirmed that DHS could allow F-1 students to remain temporarily for practical training.

A separate question is whether the department can set a fee so high that it effectively operates as a restriction or tax. Any $100,000 charge is likely to be challenged under immigration law and the Administrative Procedure Act, particularly after courts blocked the administration’s attempt to impose the same amount on some H-1B petitions.

Trump announced the H-1B charge in September 2025, requiring a $100,000 payment for certain new workers applying from outside the US. A federal judge in Boston struck it down on 8 June, ruling that it was an unauthorized tax that Congress had never approved.

“The substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax,” US District Judge Leo Sorokin wrote. On 24 July, the First US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to suspend his ruling while the administration appeals.

That case does not automatically decide the legality of an OPT fee. The administration could use formal rulemaking and rely on different statutory powers. But the H-1B judgment shows that calling a charge a fee will not protect it if its scale and purpose make it look like a tax or a barrier Congress did not authorize.

The proposed OPT charge would also reach people largely excluded from the H-1B payment. The H-1B fee did not generally cover foreign graduates already in the US who changed status directly from an F-1 visa. Indians received 70% of approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2025, according to USCIS.

A Narrowing Route From Campus to Work

Foreign students are already adjusting to tighter rules.

A separate DHS regulation taking effect on 15 September will replace the longstanding “duration of status” system with fixed periods of admission, generally capped at four years.

Students who need additional time for their degree or practical training may have to apply directly to USCIS for an extension.

Transitional provisions temporarily spare many current students from filing an additional extension request with their OPT application.

The administration has also replaced the random H-1B lottery with a system favoring better-paid applicants. That makes selection harder for recent graduates, whose starting salaries tend to be lower than those of experienced workers.