US colleges might soon have to fork out cash to help their international graduates land jobs in the US.
The Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule on Wednesday that would require schools to pay fees before recommending F-1 students for Optional Practical Training.
OPT is a temporary work authorization for jobs linked to a student’s field of study. It generally allows eligible international graduates to work in the US for up to a year; those with eligible STEM degrees can seek a 24-month extension.
If it goes through, the proposal would require US schools to pay $70,000 for a student’s initial OPT recommendation and $30,000 for any extension.
“Optional Practical Training was never meant to be a back door into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a prize for those who game the system,” a DHS spokesperson said in the release. “DHS is upskilling OPT to require foreign students to justify their worth to employers.”
An ICE spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Business Insider that the DHS has encountered more employers, schools, and students “engaged in schemes to exploit current regulations for fraudulent purposes.”
The agency is seeking public comment on the proposal until November 9 before imposing any changes. If implemented, the collected fees would be deposited in the US Treasury, DHS said in the release.
This proposal is the latest move by the Trump Administration to clamp down on foreign talent and protect American workers. Over the past year, several policy changes have targeted workers on H-1B visas, a non-immigrant work visa for skilled foreign workers.
Last September, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring US companies to pay $100,000 for each new H-1B application. This order was struck down by a federal judge in June.
A few months later, in August, the DHS issued a new proposal for a $103,265 fee for new H-1B petitions. This has not yet gone into effect.
International students have already been caught up in the administration’s visa policy changes. In July, the DHS announced a new rule that prevents students on the F-1 visa from staying in the US for more than 4 years, regardless of the length of the visa holder’s course. This rule, too, was temporarily blocked in September by a federal judge.
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