Now Reading: US OPT fee proposal under White House review
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US OPT fee proposal under White House review
The Department of Homeland Security has sent a proposal to change fees for the Optional Practical Training program to the White House for review. The proposal, which reached the Office of Information…
The Department of Homeland Security has sent a proposal to change fees for the Optional Practical Training program to the White House for review. The proposal, which reached the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on August 20, comes after reports that the Trump administration was weighing a $100,000 fee for OPT, a work authorization program used by international students after graduation. The listing does not confirm the fee amount, which remains a proposal under consideration rather than a final rule, Hindustan Times reports.
The H-1B fee proposal cleared White House review on August 19, according to immigration law firm Fragomen. A separate proposal to eliminate the discretionary 60-day grace period for certain nonimmigrant workers after job loss has also been sent for review. About 300,000 F-1 students had OPT employment authorization last year. The proposed changes, which would affect many Indian students and workers, are not in effect yet and will undergo a public comment period before any final rule is issued.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both outlets report the same regulatory steps neutrally, but Hindustan Times leads with the $100,000 OPT fee as a reported proposal under White House review, while Greatandhra foregrounds the broader H-1B shock and includes the grace-period elimination as a parallel tightening. The difference is in emphasis: Hindustan Times frames the news as a pending decision with caveats, Greatandhra frames it as a signal of major immigration restriction. The balanced reading is that two separate proposals are in early stages, neither fee amount nor grace-period change is final until published for comment.
The OIRA review process for both proposals will reveal the exact proposed fees and rule changes.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com (neutral report), greatandhra.com (sensationalist)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
