On October 8 ICE formally proposed that before a DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS, the school must pay the government a fee for each student: $70,000 the first time and $30,000 each time after. Pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT and STEM extensions all count. The school pays the government, but it can have the student or employer cover the cost. Public comments close November 9, and nothing is charged until a final rule takes effect.
Who is affected
F-1 students planning to apply for OPT (before graduation, after graduation or a STEM extension), their schools and employers. Prospective students choosing schools should also watch: schools may handle this cost very differently.
Keep in mind
The school pays the fee; each school decides whether it, the student or the employer ultimately covers it.
Next to watch
2026-11-09 · Public comments on the rule close; online comments must be in by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
Policy background
00 / BACKGROUND
Today, applying for OPT works like this: your school’s DSO first recommends you in SEVIS and gives you an updated I-20; you then file Form I-765 with USCIS for an EAD work permit. This proposal adds a fee before the first step.
ICE sent the fee rule (RIN 1653-AB01) to OIRA for review on August 20, 2026; review finished, with changes, on September 11. The proposal was published October 8 (document 2026-20660, 91 FR 64566, docket ICEB-2026-0100), setting the amounts at $70,000 the first time and $30,000 each time after.
How it would work: only after the school pays can the DSO recommend you and USCIS approve your OPT work permit. The school can have the student or employer cover the cost. Every type of OPT is charged; CPT is not; and simply changing employers during OPT does not trigger another fee.
When it would start: 60 days after the final rule is published. The first OPT recommendation after that date costs $70,000, even for a student who has used OPT before; once that is paid, each later recommendation costs $30,000. EADs already issued stay valid.
Refunds: before OPT or an extension is approved, the school can withdraw the recommendation and ask for a refund, which SEVP decides case by case; after approval there is no refund, and a denied refund cannot be appealed.
Two deadlines: comments on the rule itself close November 9; the proposal also creates new forms and data collection, which under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) get their own comment period, closing December 7.
Your first job after graduation may hinge on whether your school pays this fee.
The proposal has schools pay the government, and schools can pass the cost to students or employers. So the effect starts before the DSO recommendation: whether the school is willing to pay, whether the student can afford it, and whether the employer will share it decide whether the recommendation goes through. Do the math: one post-completion OPT plus one STEM extension means $70,000 plus $30,000, or $100,000 in total.
For students: it depends on whether your school pays
The school pays $70,000 first. If the school passes it on, the student needs the money before the DSO recommends OPT; if the school covers it, the student pays less or nothing.
Example 1 · Hypothetical
Lin has a full-time offer after graduation. If the final rule adopts this mechanism, the school must first pay $70,000 for his OPT recommendation. It may pay itself or ask Lin or the employer for the money; until the money is arranged, the recommendation cannot go through.
Example 2 · Hypothetical
Zhou is comparing U.S. master’s programs. If the rule takes effect, whether a school funds OPT and how it splits the cost between students and employers will directly affect the cost of working after graduation.
For schools and employers: the money comes before the recommendation
The school pays the government; only then can the DSO recommend and USCIS approve. Whether and how much the employer contributes is for the school and employer to work out.
For example · Hypothetical
A small company has budgeted Chen’s salary. If the school asks the employer to cover the $70,000 first-time OPT fee, the company has to rework its budget and may delay the offer or negotiate a split with the school.
For later OPT: a STEM extension depends on whether you paid the first fee
Each later OPT recommendation, including a STEM extension, costs $30,000 only if the student has already paid the $70,000 first fee. Otherwise the first recommendation after the rule starts costs $70,000.
For example · Hypothetical
Wang started post-completion OPT before the rule took effect and never paid a fee. When he applies for a STEM extension after the rule starts, that is his first recommendation under the rule, so it costs $70,000, not $30,000.
Outlook
02 / OUTLOOK
Two things to watch: whether the amounts, payment method and transition change after the comment period, and how each school decides who pays.
What happens in each case?
Pick a situation to see what it would mean for you. The three are side-by-side possibilities, in no particular order.
IF THIS HAPPENS A · Current proposal implemented
Whether schools pay decides who can use OPT
Assumption: The final rule keeps $70,000 first and $30,000 after, with schools paying up front.
Potential effects in this scenario
Schools decide whether to pay and where the money comes from; in the end the school, the student or the employer pays. Well-funded schools and better-off students will have an easier time.
Signals to watch
Whether the final text keeps the amounts and the pay-before-recommendation step, and the funding policies schools announce afterward.
These scenarios are our analysis and get updated as new documents come out.
What would change this analysis?
Who pays the government, who covers it
The school pays the government; it can pass the cost to the student or the employer.
Which OPT
Pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT and STEM extensions are all charged; CPT is not; changing employers during OPT is not.
When it starts
New recommendations from 60 days after the final rule is published; students who never paid the first fee pay $70,000 first.
Progress
03 / Federal rulemaking
ICE published the proposal on October 8: schools would pay $70,000 the first time and $30,000 each time after, before an OPT recommendation. Public comments on the rule run until November 9.
Currently waiting for
Rule comments close November 9 and forms comments December 7; then DHS decides the final text.
In progress · Public comment
Anyone can comment before the deadline, and the agency must read and respond. Current rules still apply after this step.
Key dates
04 / TIMELINE
The fee rule (RIN 1653-AB01) went to OIRA for review.
OIRA finished review and cleared the proposal with changes.
The proposal was published: schools pay $70,000 first and $30,000 each time after; rule comments close November 9, comments on forms and data collection (PRA) December 7.