WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday proposed a $70,000 fee for international students seeking to work in the United States, the latest effort by the Trump administration to repress on registrations abroad.
A proposed rule would require schools to pay fees for each student who participates in the optional practical training program, known as OPT, which allows students to work in jobs related to their major during or after their studies. Students are generally eligible for one year of work after graduation, although some science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors are eligible for two additional years.
Schools would be required to pay $70,000 for each new student’s initial application to the program, as well as a $30,000 fee for each renewal.
The change would be a blow to higher education and some businesses
American colleges and universities massively recruiting foreign students as a source of tuition revenue. Tech companies and other industries also hire many international students for technical positions.
The OPT program allows international students to gain hands-on experience and fill labor shortages in high-demand STEM fields, said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, an association that represents international education.
“Driven out the talents, perspectives and aspirations of international students will only harm American innovation, economic growth, workforce development and global leadership,” Aw said in a written statement.
In a statement, DHS described the fees as a response to fraud and abuse in the visa program, which it called a “cheap foreign labor pipeline.”
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal before DHS can finalize and implement it. The proposal could also face legal challenges from higher education groups or professional associations that could delay it.
Trump administration puts pressure on international students
The proposed rule is part of broader efforts to crack down on immigration and reshape higher education. Last year, the Republican administration suddenly began to end the legal status of thousands of international students, detaining and deporting many of them.
This summer, the administration finalized a rule to prevent international students from staying in the United States for more than four years. without approval of the federal government. The move drew swift backlash from higher education leaders, who said it would increase the burden on schools and pointed out that many programs last more than four years, by design. A federal court blocked the rule from taking effect in September.
Doug Rand, a former senior adviser to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Biden administration, predicted the fees would be overturned by the courts, just as they were. $100,000 fee for H-1B work visas that many tech companies and universities rely on to fill vacancies and skilled jobs.
The Trump administration is now trying to increase visa fees to more than $100,000.
Rand said fees are not the solution.
“When we educate international students at our universities and they want to work and apply their talents here after they graduate, we must of course welcome them — and not use exorbitant fees as an excuse to send them packing,” Rand said in an email.
Enrollment Concerns Rise Among Educational Groups
Sarah Spreitzer, vice president of the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents, said international enrollment has suffered.
Last fall, the number of new students entering the United States for the first time, by 17%, the largest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall numbers for this fall are not yet available, but Spreitzer said some colleges are reporting declines of 30 to 40 percent.
She said the new Trump plan won’t help.
“We know that OPT is one of the reasons international students choose to study in the United States, because they can gain professional experience after graduation,” she added.
A similar program, which allowed international students to participate in internships and internships, also faced scrutiny from the Trump administration. New guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the curricular practical training program should only be allowed when work experience is a degree requirement led to a lawsuit Monday.
Educational groups including the Association of American Universities and NAFSA have said that in the past this program was allowed if it was “directly related to the student’s major field of study.” The groups also said ICE threatened university officials with criminal charges if they did not comply.
“We know that the administration has attempted to obstruct legal employment-based immigration through numerous means,” said Steven Brown, a Houston-based immigration attorney. “I think it’s the next level of attack, and I think it’s a design to kill the program without killing the program. I don’t see many schools wanting to pay $70,000 for a student to get OPT.”
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Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kan.
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