Quick answer: The proposed OPT fees are not in effect. On October 8, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would charge an SEVP-certified school $70,000 before the first Optional Practical Training recommendation for an F-1 student, and $30,000 before a later recommendation after that initial fee had been paid. Comments are due November 9, 2026. If a final rule is published, the proposal would take effect 60 days later, and the charge would attach to designated school official (DSO) recommendations dated on or after that effective date. Until then, file under today's rules. Do not pay a school, a recruiter, or an employer $70,000 because of a headline.
If you are choosing between OPT, STEM OPT, and H-1B, start with OPT vs STEM OPT vs H-1B. For the broader search, use the F-1 visa job search guide. This page covers only the October 2026 fee proposal: what the text says, who would pay, and how to keep applying while it is still a proposal. It is not legal advice. Your DSO, and an immigration attorney if you hire one, controls the filing.
What are the proposed OPT fees?
DHS announced the proposal on October 7, 2026, and published it in the Federal Register on October 8 as "Optional Practical Training Fees," Docket No. ICEB-2026-0100 (DHS press release, Federal Register).
The proposed charge would sit on top of the Form I-765 fee a student already pays. It would not replace that filing fee, and it would not be a bill USCIS sends to the student.
| Proposed charge | Amount | When it would be due | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial OPT fee | $70,000 | Before the DSO's first OPT recommendation for that student, whether the first period is pre-completion or post-completion | Federal Register |
| Subsequent OPT fee | $30,000 | Before a later OPT recommendation, after the $70,000 fee has been paid. DHS treats a STEM OPT extension as this kind of later recommendation | Federal Register |
| Current Form I-765, general filing | $520 by paper or $470 online on the October 7, 2026 fee schedule | When you file. Confirm category (c)(3) in the USCIS fee calculator before you pay | USCIS G-1055 |
| Optional Form I-907 premium processing for OPT and STEM OPT classifications | $1,780, and the schedule says this is in addition to the I-765 fee | Only if you request premium processing and USCIS has opened it for that benefit | USCIS fee schedule PDF |
The notice says its scope is OPT and does not address curricular practical training (CPT). It also restates a current limit: one year or more of full-time CPT can make you ineligible for post-completion OPT, while part-time CPT does not. Ask your DSO before you treat CPT as a workaround for a fee that is not in force.
The notice, citing the 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers report, says that by 2024 there were 165,524 F-1 students on STEM OPT and another 194,554 on pre- and post-completion OPT. It compares that with the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000, plus 20,000 for certain U.S. advanced-degree graduates, and argues that uncapped OPT has become a way to work past that cap. Those figures are the agency's stated reason for the docket.
Who would pay the proposed OPT fee?
The party that would have to pay DHS is the SEVP-certified school, before the DSO recommends the student for OPT in SEVIS. USCIS would not grant employment authorization if that fee had not been paid. The proposed fee is not tied to a specific employer.
Three details decide whether "the school pays" is comforting or not:
- A new recommendation is a new fee event. A new employer is not. The notice's example is explicit. A student who needs a pre-completion recommendation and later needs a separate post-completion recommendation would trigger $70,000 for the first and $30,000 for the second, even if the employer stayed the same, provided both recommendations happened under the rule. Switching employers during one OPT period that was already recommended would not, by itself, create another charge.
- The school could pass the cost through. DHS says it is not dictating how schools fund the fee, and it acknowledges that schools may pass the financial obligation on to F-1 students, to students generally, or to employers. A tuition line, a student invoice, or an employer reimbursement would be your school's policy. It would not be a USCIS receipt with your name on it.
- A DSO could decline the recommendation. The notice states that DSOs are not required to recommend F-1 students for OPT and can elect not to pay the fee for a particular student who is not a strong candidate for OPT, or whose participation could adversely affect the integrity of the program. Take that sentence to your international office. A rule that names the school as the payer is not a rule that forces the school to recommend everyone.
Refunds would be narrow. A school could request a refund only if the student had not yet been issued the employment authorization document tied to that payment. The DSO would first have to remove the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. SEVP would decide each request case by case. The proposed text says refund decisions are not subject to administrative appeal, and that the fee is not refunded under any circumstances once the EAD has been issued.
Are the proposed OPT fees in effect?
No. Offices that posted student guidance in the week after publication say current processing continues. Yale told students the proposed rule still has to finish public comment and a future effective date, and that current OPT and STEM OPT rules and fees remain in effect. Brown said the same, and added that a final rule would take effect 60 days after publication, with the fees applying only after that date. The University of Louisville answered its own December 2026 graduates directly: the proposal does not change their OPT application while existing regulations and fees remain in effect.
Before anyone owes $70,000, three things still have to happen. Comments are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 9, 2026, through regulations.gov under Docket ICEB-2026-0100. A paperwork comment period runs through December 7, 2026. DHS can change the text after comments, and a proposal is not a final rule. The notice sets the effective date at 60 days after a final rule is published. The $70,000 would start with a DSO recommendation dated on or after that date. The notice says a school would not pay for OPT a student is already using, for OPT approved before the effective date, or for a recommendation issued before that date. A later request on or after the effective date would fall under the fee provisions (Federal Register).
| Your situation on October 16, 2026 | Charged under the proposal today? | What changes if a final rule is published |
|---|---|---|
| Already on approved post-completion OPT | No | The OPT you already have is not the fee event. A new recommendation dated on or after the effective date is |
| DSO has already recommended OPT and you are inside the filing window | No, for that recommendation | Stay inside the current 30-day and program-end deadlines |
| Graduating in December 2026, no recommendation yet | No | Ask the school whether a final rule's 60-day delay could land before your recommendation date |
| You used pre-completion OPT and still need post-completion | No, until a recommendation is dated on or after the effective date | Two recommendations after the effective date would be two fees in the notice's example |
| CPT only, no OPT recommendation | This notice says it does not address CPT | A later OPT recommendation is a separate step |
| A recruiter asks you to pay the new OPT fee now | Nobody owes it now | Send the Federal Register link. Do not wire $70,000 |
There is a drafting wrinkle if you are already on OPT and STEM OPT is the next step. The transition text charges $70,000 for a recommendation dated on or after the effective date, and $30,000 for a subsequent recommendation after that $70,000 has been paid. If your first OPT happened before any $70,000 payment existed, do not assume a future STEM recommendation is automatically the $30,000 tier. Ask your DSO how the school reads "initial" versus "subsequent." Budgeting for the wrong number is an easy mistake, and neither number is due while the text is only a proposal.