The Trump administration is planning a $100,000 fee for foreign students who want to work in the United States after graduation, a move that would hit the Optional Practical Training program and could reshape one of the main paths from campus to the first job.
The discussion matters now because it comes as the US government has also finalized a separate rule that shortens how long most international students can stay in the country while studying. Under that rule, most students would be allowed to remain for up to four years, while those in degree, PhD, medical programme or research tracks that run longer would need extra permission from the Department of Homeland Security.
Optional Practical Training has long been the bridge between school and the labor market, and for many families it is part of the calculation when they commit to an American education. Most international students on F-1 visas can currently work in their field for up to one year after graduation, while students in STEM courses can usually do so for up to three years. In 2024, around 419,000 international graduates were working under OPT.
The new fee proposal is still being discussed inside the Department of Homeland Security, and the biggest uncertainty is also the most immediate one: officials have not decided whether the cost would fall on students or on the companies that hire them. Either way, a six-figure charge would raise the price of staying and working in the US far beyond what most graduates can absorb.
That is why the proposal reads less like a routine visa tweak than a barrier at the point where education turns into employment. The current system has relied on post-study work as a practical handoff from classroom to career. If the fee is adopted, the question is no longer whether foreign graduates can find work in the United States, but whether they can afford to take the first step.
