The Trump administration is weighing a $100,000 fee on international students who wish to work in the United States after completing their studies at American universities. According to The Times of India, this proposal would mark a significant step in US President Donald Trump's broader push to tighten legal immigration channels. The reported move has sparked widespread criticism online, with social media users calling it a 'stupid idea' and questioning its impact on international talent. The fee is understood to be tied to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) scheme, which currently permits eligible international graduates to remain and work in the US for up to three years after finishing their degrees. A person familiar with the matter told Business Standard that if implemented, the fee would put a popular post-graduate visa extension out of reach for many students. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that while no policy should be considered final until formally announced, the department was "always having conversations" about how to "protect the integrity of our legal immigration system."
Government data shows that around 419,000 international graduates were employed through the OPT program in 2024, according to figures cited by The Times of India. This represents a significant increase from the approximately 300,000 international students on OPT as of last fall, which represented roughly a quarter of the foreign student population in the US. The program serves as an important recruitment pipeline for US companies, particularly in sectors such as technology and finance, with many major employers hiring international graduates through OPT before later sponsoring eligible workers for H-1B visas. In 2024, roughly 418,000 students were authorized to work in the US through an Optional Practical Training visa, which was approximately 26 percent of the 1.58 million foreign students on F-1 or M-1 visas. The OPT fee discussion comes shortly after the Trump administration faced a legal challenge over a separate immigration proposal involving H-1B visas.
The proposed fee would have severe economic consequences for American universities and students. International students currently contribute roughly ₹55 billion annually in economic contribution through tuition cross-subsidies, according to the Institute of International Education. New international student enrollment has already fallen 17 percent in fall 2025 and another 20 percent in spring 2026, translating to ₹1.1 billion in lost economic activity and nearly 23,000 fewer jobs according to NAFSA estimates. The University of Texas at Arlington reported a 20 percent international enrollment decline in fall 2025 and projected tuition revenue losses of between ₹13 million and ₹15.6 million for fiscal year 2026. Northwestern University cited international enrollment as a contributing factor when it eliminated 425 positions, froze hiring, and deferred construction projects. Moody's bond-rating agency warned of 'significant financial stress' and elevated credit risk for universities with heavy international enrollments.
The administration had attempted to introduce a $100,000 fee for certain H-1B applicants, but a federal appeals court in Boston blocked enforcement of the measure on July 24, 2026. That proposal faced opposition from technology companies, which argued that increased costs could affect access to skilled foreign workers. The administration later narrowed the scope of the H-1B fee plan to cover certain foreign professionals entering the US directly on H-1B visas. The reported OPT proposal would instead affect international students already enrolled at US universities, marking another major change in rules governing legal immigration. A White House official familiar with the matter told The Independent that the administration had no imminent policy announcements on Optional Practical Training visas. The OPT program was created by federal regulation in 1992, giving the administration more flexibility than the H-1B version, which was struck down on grounds of unauthorized fees. The proposed charge is expected to be linked to a new requirement announced earlier this month requiring international students to apply for an extension of their visas to access OPT.
Economic research reveals the devastating impact of restricting international talent pipelines. The Brain Freeze study commissioned by the National Academies estimates that a sustained one-third decline in foreign STEM graduates would cut annual US real GDP by ₹240 billion to ₹481 billion within a decade. Foreign-born workers currently make up 49.2 percent of employed STEM workers with PhDs, with foreign-born professionals accounting for more than 60 percent of all new STEM workers with PhDs between 2000 and 2023. The proposed fee would particularly impact companies like Amazon, which employs 6,679 STEM OPT workers, and Google, Microsoft, and Meta - the three largest H-1B sponsors. As noted by Jeremy Neufeld of the Institute for Progress, removing the OPT pipeline would make the H-1B program less skilled and less paid, with outsourcing firms likely to capture the remaining slots in the visa lottery.
