The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday proposed significantly raising fees for a popular work authorization program for international students.
Under the proposal, schools would have to pay a fee of $70,000 for each student seeking optional hands-on training, known as OPT, and $30,000 for requests to extend the program. This represents a large increase from the current fee of around $500, which international students historically pay themselves.
The program allows foreign students on F-1 visas to work temporarily in the United States in jobs related to their field of study after graduation. The program is a key driver of international student enrollment and often serves as a bridge for these students to transition to other immigration statuses, such as the H-1B visa, in order to continue working in the country.
“Voluntary hands-on training was never intended to be a backdoor into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a prize for those who game the system,” an anonymous DHS spokesperson said in a press release. “DHS is upgrading OPT skills to force international students to justify their worth to employers. American workers should not have to compete with a program that has been transformed into a cheap foreign labor pipeline.”
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