After H-1B setback, Trump mulls $100,000 fee for international graduates seeking US jobs

Washington: The Donald Trump administration is considering imposing a $100,000 fee on international students who wish to work in the United States after graduating from American universities, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The proposed fee would apply to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, an extension of the F-1 student visa that allows international graduates to work in the US for one to three years in jobs related to their field of study.

The move comes after a US court struck down a proposal to levy a $100,000 fee on H-1B work visas. According to the report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is exploring the possibility of introducing the fee for OPT participants. Around 419,000 international graduates were working under the OPT programme in 2024, the latest year for which data is available.

The proposed fee is expected to have a significant impact on international students, for whom the OPT programme is a major incentive to pursue higher education in the US. Without OPT, most foreign graduates would have to leave the country immediately after completing their studies.

Technology companies, which recruit a large number of graduates from US universities, had opposed the earlier proposal to impose a similar fee on H-1B visas.

Responding to the report, a DHS spokesperson said no policy should be considered final until it is formally announced.

“No policies should be considered final until formally announced. At DHS we are always having conversations about how to use all tools in our arsenal to protect the integrity of our legal immigration system,” the spokesperson said.

The report also said officials at the US State Department are considering requiring applicants for green cards from outside the US to pay a $100,000 bond, refundable only after they relocate to the US and obtain American citizenship.

If implemented, the proposed OPT fee would represent one of the most significant cost increases for international graduates seeking post-study employment in the United States.