US may impose USD 1,00,000 fee on OPT visas

The US is considering a USD 1,00,000 fee on Optional Practical Training visas for international students after graduation. The proposal comes after a court struck down a similar H-1B visa fee plan and could significantly affect students seeking work experience

Washington: The US is planning to impose a USD 1,00,000 fee on visas issued to international students to work in the US after graduation from an American university, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Trump administration’s move comes after a US court struck down a proposal to levy a USD 1,00,000 fee on H-1B visas.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is mulling the high fee on Optional Practical Training (OPT) visas, which are an extension of F-1 visas issued to students.

The OPT programme allows foreign graduates to work for one to three years on their student visas in areas directly related to their studies.

Roughly 4,19,000 foreigners were working on OPT in 2024, the latest year for which data are available.

Tech companies, which conduct most of the recruitment from US universities, opposed the USD 1,00,000 fee on H-1B visas.

A DHS spokeswoman said in a statement, “No policies should be considered final until formally announced. At DHS, we are always having conversations about how to use all tools in our arsenal to protect the integrity of our legal immigration system.”

In addition to the H-1B and student visas, officials at the State Department are also weighing a USD 1,00,000 bond for applicants seeking green cards outside the US, redeemable only after they move to the US and become citizens.

The OPT programme is one of the primary attractions for international students choosing to study in the US.

Without OPT, most international students would be forced to leave the US immediately after graduation, taking the skills they gained at American universities to foreign markets.