DHS Proposes Fees on Schools Nominating F-1 Students for OPT
DHS published an NPRM on Oct. 8, 2026 that would impose new fees on institutions recommending F-1 students for Optional Practical Training, hitting universities, employers and students.
On October 8, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would impose significant new fees on schools that recommend F-1 students for Optional Practical Training, according to Seyfarth Shaw. The reported framing — unprecedented fees tied to the school recommendation step — points at the link between institutions and students rather than at employer sponsor filings.
Why sophisticated counsel should care: OPT is the standard post-graduation work authorization for a large share of international students, and the school recommendation is the entry point to that process. A fee imposed at the school level could raise the cost of advising and nominating students, complicate recruiting and matriculation decisions for institutions, and add planning burden for employers that sponsor OPT participants alongside universities. It also lands amid a policy environment of heightened scrutiny of the student visa pathway. Because this is a proposal rather than a final rule, comment timing, fee mechanics and any litigation are the variables to track; the notice text itself was not available in the source material reviewed here, so fee amounts and duration remain unverified.
Concrete action: watch the Federal Register publication for comment deadlines and fee schedules, then advise institutional and corporate clients on nomination costs and whether to prepare early comment.