Report: US considering a $100,000 fee for Optional Practical Training

The Trump administration is reportedly weighing a $100,000 charge on Optional Practical Training (OPT), the main post-study work route for international graduates in the United States. For Indian students weighing the US against the UK, that figure would reshape the maths of a degree abroad—potentially adding a six-figure dollar cost on top of tuition and living expenses, before any salary is earned.

What exactly is being proposed?

As reported by ICEF Monitor, citing The Wall Street Journal, the US government “is considering attaching a $100,000 price tag on international students’ ability to work in the US after they graduate from an American university.” ICEF Monitor frames this as a further tightening of international student opportunity under the Trump administration, not a confirmed rule change.

Optional Practical Training allows F-1 visa holders to work in the US in a field related to their degree, typically for up to 12 months, with a possible 24-month extension for STEM graduates. For many Indian students, OPT is not a bonus—it is the bridge between graduation and an H-1B lottery, employer sponsorship, or return-home planning. A fee at the scale reported would function less like a standard visa charge and more like a major capital outlay tied directly to employability.

At the time of writing, this remains a reported policy consideration. No Federal Register notice, USCIS fee schedule update, or White House executive order has been cited in the ICEF Monitor piece as final law. Treat the $100,000 figure as unconfirmed until published on an official `.gov` source.

Why does this matter for Indian students?

India sends one of the largest cohorts of international students to the United States each year, and post-study work rights are often the decisive factor in destination choice. Parents frequently budget tuition, accommodation, and test fees—but not an additional $100,000 (roughly ₹83,00,000–₹87,00,000 at typical 2026 exchange rates, though your bank rate will differ) payable simply to unlock graduate employment.

The timing matters. US policy uncertainty now coincides with active recruitment cycles for 2026 and 2027 intakes. Students who assumed OPT would remain accessible on existing terms may need to rerun financial models before accepting offers or paying non-refundable deposits. Even the discussion of a six-figure levy can shift employer behaviour: some US firms hire international graduates precisely because OPT provides a structured, familiar pathway; a punitive fee raises compliance and cost questions before the first interview.

Indian applicants comparing destinations should read this alongside broader US immigration enforcement trends reported in 2025–2026, including heightened scrutiny of student visa compliance. The headline fee is dramatic; the underlying signal is consistent—work rights after an American degree are no longer a stable planning assumption.

How does a $100,000 OPT fee compare with UK post-study routes?

UK rules are separate from US immigration policy, but Indian families often evaluate both markets in the same spreadsheet. The comparison is stark.

The UK Graduate route requires its own application and fees, and maintenance evidence applies at the Student visa stage—not a $100,000 work-access charge. Use NexStudy’s visa and PR duration comparison tool to map how long post-study permissions last in each country against your course length and career horizon.

What do we know—and what remains unconfirmed?

ICEF Monitor’s reporting gives us three anchor facts: the proposed mechanism (a fee attached to OPT work authorisation), the reported amount ($100,000), and the sourcing frame (“according to people familiar with the matter,” via The Wall Street Journal). What we do not have is implementation detail: payment timing, exemptions for STEM graduates, grandfathering for current students, instalment options, or interaction with existing USCIS filing fees.

Quoting the reported wording ICEF Monitor carries: the administration “is considering attaching a $100,000 price tag on international students’ ability to work in the US after they graduate from an American university.” That language describes intent under discussion, not a enacted fee schedule.

For contrast, when UK visa fees change, the Home Office publishes explicit amounts and effective dates—for example, maintenance thresholds and visa fees on gov.uk pages that counsellors can cite line by line. US policy at this stage lacks that certainty. Any figure you model today for the US side should include a sensitivity row: “tuition + living + $0 OPT fee (baseline) vs $100,000 OPT fee (reported scenario).”

Who would be affected if this policy moves forward?

The direct cohort is international students on F-1 visas who plan to apply for OPT after completing a US degree— including the large Indian share of MS programmes, MBAs, and specialised bachelor’s pathways. STEM OPT candidates facing a 36-month potential work window would see the highest lifetime value at stake, which makes a flat $100,000 charge especially consequential for tech and engineering pipelines.

Indirect effects hit earlier-stage applicants: undergraduates, community college transfer students, and parents funding four-year budgets. Universities that rely on international enrolment for revenue and research labour may also adjust scholarships, CPT policies, or career services messaging—second-order impacts that still land on student decisions.

UK-bound students are not automatically “safe” from US policy shocks. Many hold conditional offers in both countries. The practical split is geographic: this story does not change UKVI rules, but it may reorder which US offer is financially rational. Students already in the US on active OPT would need to watch for grandfathering language that no report has yet defined—another reason to avoid treating social media summaries as law.

What should you do now?

1. Separate report from rule. Until USCIS or the Department of Homeland Security publishes an official fee or regulatory change, budget the $100,000 as a stress-test scenario, not a invoice you owe today. Bookmark the ICEF Monitor analysis and check uscis.gov for filing-fee updates.

2. Rebuild your total cost of attendance. Add a line item for “post-study work access” beside tuition (often $25,000–$60,000+ per year at many US universities, programme-dependent), health insurance, and living costs. Compare against UK totals using official maintenance figures on gov.uk/student-visa/money (As of August 2026: £13,347 London / £10,224 outside London maintenance evidence for a 9-month window).

3. Map work timelines deliberately. If US OPT is central to your career plan, model H-1B lottery odds, employer sponsorship culture, and return-to-India timelines. NexStudy’s Study in the USA hub and free study-abroad calculators help stress-test scenarios with your actual offer letters—not generic averages.

4. Keep parallel UK options warm. If you hold a UK offer, confirm CAS timing, deposit deadlines, and Graduate route eligibility on gov.uk/graduate-visa. A US policy rumour is not a reason to panic-accept a UK place—but it is a reason to avoid irreversible US-only commitments before clarity arrives.

5. Ask universities direct, documented questions. Email international student offices: “If an OPT fee were enacted, would enrolled students be grandfathered?” Save replies. Official institutional guidance beats forum speculation.

6. Track credible updates weekly. Follow primary sources—USCIS, your university’s international office, and curated desks like NexStudy’s latest study-abroad updates—rather than resharing unsourced WhatsApp forwards.

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FAQ: Q: Is the $100,000 OPT fee official US law? | A: No confirmed law as of August 2026. ICEF Monitor reports the Trump administration is considering it, citing The Wall Street Journal. Verify any fee on uscis.gov before paying or changing plans.

FAQ: Q: Would Indian students on STEM OPT face the same fee? | A: Reports do not specify exemptions. Until official text is published, assume all OPT applicants could be affected and model both STEM and non-STEM paths conservatively.

FAQ: Q: Does this change UK Graduate visa rules? | A: No. UK post-study work is governed by UKVI under the Graduate route, with separate fees and eligibility. Check gov.uk/graduate-visa for current terms.

FAQ: Q: Should I cancel my US offer immediately? | A: Not solely on this report. Re-run your budget with and without a $100,000 fee, compare UK alternatives, and seek counselling before surrendering deposits you cannot recover.

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Policy headlines move faster than visa manuals. If you are an Indian student or parent balancing US offers against UK pathways, NexStudy offers free counselling to assess how reported OPT costs—confirmed or not—interact with your grades, finances, and career goals. We will not guarantee admissions or visas; we will help you ask the right questions before you commit.

Sources: ICEF Monitor (August 2026) · UK student visa money (gov.uk) · UK Graduate visa (gov.uk)