OPT Visa News for Job Seekers: Will Employers Stop Hiring OPT Students Over the Proposed Fee?
The proposed $70,000 OPT fee is not law, and the school, not your employer, is the legal payer. Here is what that means for your job search right now.
Will employers stop hiring OPT students over the proposed $70,000 OPT fee? The plain answer from this week's OPT visa news: as of October 14, 2026, the fee is proposed, not in effect. Under the proposal the school is the legal payer, not the employer, and nothing changes today for an employer that hires you on OPT. The real risk is not a new legal cost for employers. It is confusion: hiring teams who misread the headline and quietly decide OPT candidates are "too complicated." That risk is real, and you can manage it.
Status as of October 14, 2026:
- In effect: current OPT rules, the current I-765 filing fee, the $1,780 OPT/STEM OPT premium processing fee, and the 90-day / 150-day unemployment limits.
- Proposed: the OPT fee rule ($70,000 initial, $30,000 for each subsequent OPT recommendation), published 2026-10-08, comments close 2026-11-09.
- Blocked: the Duration-of-Status rule (enjoined 2026-09-14; DHS has appealed), so the 60-day F-1 grace period still applies.
- In effect as guidance, challenged: SEVP's August 2026 CPT broadcasts (court hearing 2026-11-06).
OPT visa news: what the proposed fee actually says
On October 8, 2026, DHS and ICE published a proposed rule titled "Optional Practical Training Fees" in the Federal Register. If you only read headlines, you probably missed the three details that matter most for your job search: who pays, when it could start, and what it does not touch.
The proposed OPT fee at a glance, as of October 2026:
| Question | What the proposal says | Status (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| How much? | $70,000 before a student's initial OPT recommendation; $30,000 for each subsequent OPT recommendation (STEM OPT counts as subsequent) | Proposed |
| Who is the legal payer? | The SEVP-certified school, before the DSO issues the recommendation (proposed 8 CFR 214.13(i)) | Proposed |
| Can the cost be passed on? | DHS says schools "may pass the financial obligation of this proposed fee onto F-1 nonimmigrant students, all students, or employers" | Proposed; school choice |
| Where does the money go? | The Treasury; it is not tied to an employer | Proposed |
| When could it start? | Only for DSO recommendations dated 60+ days after a final rule | No final rule exists |
| Already-authorized OPT? | Not affected (inferred from the prospective transition clause) | Confirm with your DSO |
| CPT? | Out of scope | Not covered |
| Comment deadline | 2026-11-09 | Open |
For a deeper walk-through of the rule itself, including what a possible second DHS rule might change, see our explainer on whether OPT is ending. Study in the States has also posted a summary of the proposal, but where any summary differs from the Federal Register text, the Federal Register text controls.
Will employers stop hiring OPT students? The honest answer
Nobody can predict how every hiring manager will react, but you can separate what the rule would do from what employers might think it does.
What the proposal would not do to employers
Under the proposed text, an employer that hires you on OPT does not file a petition, does not pay a filing fee to USCIS, and does not become the payer of this fee. That was true before October 8, and the proposal does not change it. Even if the rule were finalized, the legal obligation sits with the school. An employer would only face a cost if a school decided to pass the fee to employers, and how any school would do that in practice is not spelled out in the proposal.
There is also the timing point. Even in the fastest scenario, the fee would apply only to DSO recommendations dated at least 60 days after a final rule. An employer interviewing you this fall is not hiring into a fee that exists.
Why some employers may still hesitate
The risk is perception, and it sits on top of a market that was already hard for international candidates:
- Indeed Hiring Lab found that foreign clicks on US job postings were 1.4% in April 2026, the lowest share since January 2020 (Indeed Hiring Lab).
- Handshake data reported by CNBC shows the visa-sponsorship share of full-time postings falling from 10.9% in 2023 to 2.6% in 2026 (CNBC). Treat that as reported data from one platform, not an official count.
- A Council of Graduate Schools flash survey (2026-08-20) found that 60% of graduate schools report students fear OPT removal and 82.6% report longer visa processing (CGS).
None of those numbers is caused by the fee proposal. They describe the environment the headline landed in. A recruiter who already sees fewer international applicants, and who skims a headline about a $70,000 OPT price tag, may default to caution. Your job is to make sure the person evaluating you has the accurate version.
The confusion you will run into
Three mix-ups come up again and again:
- "OPT costs the employer $70,000." False. The proposal names the school as the payer, and it is not final.
- "This is the same as the $100,000 H-1B fee." It is not. That is a separate H-1B measure. Proclamation 11069 extended the entry restriction to 2027-09-21, but the fee itself is blocked by two federal courts. Our post on whether the $100k H-1B fee applies to OPT students breaks down that separate rule.
- "OPT is being shut down." Not by this rule. The NPRM says that without fees DHS "may shut down the program entirely," and DHS has said it is re-evaluating OPT more broadly, but no second rule has been published.
Old rule, proposed rule, and what you do differently
As of October 2026:
| Topic | Today (in effect) | Under the proposal (if finalized) | What you do differently now |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPT government cost | Current I-765 fee; optional $1,780 premium processing (G-1055 edition 10/07/26) | Adds a $70,000 initial / $30,000 subsequent fee paid by the school | Nothing changes yet; check USCIS Form I-765 for the live fee |
| Employer's role | No petition or USCIS fee for OPT; STEM OPT employers keep E-Verify and Form I-983 duties | Not the legal payer; could bear cost only if a school passes it on | Be ready to explain this in one sentence |
| Timing | Your DSO recommendation and I-765 follow today's rules | Only DSO recommendations dated 60+ days after a final rule | Ask your DSO how timing applies to your record |
| CPT | Governed by SEVP guidance (in effect, challenged) | Out of scope | Treat CPT as a separate issue |
| Unemployment limits | 90 days (post-completion OPT); 150 aggregate with STEM OPT | Unchanged by the proposal | Keep tracking your days |
The unemployment limits come from SEVP guidance and are not touched by the fee proposal. If your clock is the bigger worry, our guide to managing the OPT 90-day unemployment clock covers the mechanics.
How to answer when a recruiter asks about the OPT fee
Recruiters rarely ask about Federal Register notices. They ask, "Is there going to be some big cost if we hire you?" Have a calm, accurate answer ready:
"I'm authorized to work on OPT, and hiring me on OPT doesn't require you to file anything with USCIS or pay a fee. The OPT fee you may have seen is a proposed rule from October 8. Under the proposal, schools are the payer, and it hasn't been finalized. I'm happy to send the Federal Register link."
That answer states facts, offers a source, and stops. It does not predict whether the rule will pass.
If the conversation turns to long-term sponsorship, that is a different question with a different answer. Our guide on what to say when a recruiter mentions no sponsorship mid-interview walks through that moment. And if you are on CPT rather than OPT, the explanation is different again; see explaining Day 1 CPT to employers, keeping in mind that SEVP's August 2026 CPT guidance is in effect and being challenged in court.
What happens next: a timeline to watch
- 2026-10-08: DHS publishes the proposed OPT fee rule. Status: proposed.
- 2026-11-06: Separate from the fee, a federal court in Massachusetts holds a hearing in AAU v. DHS on SEVP's CPT broadcasts.
- 2026-11-09: The public comment period on the OPT fee closes. Anyone, including students, schools and employers, can comment through the Federal Register page.
- After comments: DHS reviews comments and decides whether to issue a final rule, change it, or drop it. There is no deadline for that decision. NAFSA has said it will file detailed comments, and practitioners expect litigation if the rule is finalized.
- If a final rule is published: the fee would apply only to DSO recommendations dated 60+ days after publication.
Until step 5 happens, nothing in this proposal changes what an employer must do to hire you on OPT.
A practical job-search plan while the rule is pending
- Keep the Federal Register link handy for recruiters who ask.
- Ask your DSO the timing question. Whether and how a future rule could touch your specific OPT or STEM OPT recommendation is a DSO question, not a group-chat question.
- Lead with work authorization, not the news. On applications, answer the work-authorization question accurately. You do not need to volunteer commentary on a proposed rule.
- Target employers who already hire OPT and STEM OPT talent. A team that has onboarded OPT hires before already knows the process and may need less explaining.
- Prepare a one-line explanation of the fee and how it differs from the $100,000 H-1B fee.
- Track your unemployment days against the 90-day or 150-day limit, because those rules are what actually govern your status today.
- Route consequential decisions to the right person. OPT, SEVIS and timing questions go to your DSO. H-1B, green card or change-of-status questions go to a licensed immigration attorney.
Common mistakes
- Describing the $70,000 fee as current. It is a proposal. Stating it as fact to a recruiter hurts you.
- Telling employers they will pay the fee. The proposal names the school as the legal payer.
- Mixing up the OPT fee and the $100,000 H-1B fee. Different programs, different rules, different statuses. The H-1B fee is blocked by two courts.
- Assuming the F-1 grace period is now 30 days. The Duration-of-Status rule is blocked, so the 60-day F-1 grace period still applies. School pages written before September 14 may be out of date.
- Treating CPT as covered by the fee. CPT is outside its scope, but CPT has its own guidance and litigation.
- Making a timing decision based on a headline. Ask your DSO before you act on anything about your OPT start date or recommendation.
- Pausing your search to "wait and see." That costs unemployment days under rules that are in effect.
Frequently asked questions
Will employers have to pay the proposed OPT fee?
Not under the text DHS proposed. Under proposed 8 CFR 214.13(i), the SEVP-certified school pays the fee before the DSO issues an OPT recommendation, and the money goes to the Treasury rather than being tied to any employer. DHS does say schools may pass the cost on to F-1 students, all students, or employers, so how each school responds matters. The rule is only proposed as of October 2026.
Does the proposed OPT fee apply to me if I already have OPT?
The proposal would apply only to DSO recommendations dated 60 or more days after a final rule is published. OPT that is already authorized appears to be unaffected, based on the prospective transition language, though that is an inference rather than an explicit statement. Confirm how it applies to your own record with your DSO.
Is the $70,000 OPT fee in effect now?
No. DHS published it as a proposed rule on October 8, 2026, and public comments close November 9, 2026. There is no final rule, and today you still pay only the current I-765 fee, plus the $1,780 premium processing fee if you choose premium processing.
Should I bring up the OPT fee proposal with an employer?
You generally do not need to raise it first, but you should be ready to explain it accurately if a recruiter asks. The short version is that it is proposed, the school is the legal payer, and it does not change how OPT works for an employer today. Keep it factual and point them to the Federal Register notice.
Does the OPT fee proposal affect CPT?
No, CPT is outside the scope of the proposed OPT fee. CPT is governed separately by SEVP broadcasts issued in August 2026, which are in effect as guidance and are being challenged in federal court, with a hearing set for November 6, 2026. Ask your DSO how your school is handling CPT.
Sources
- Federal Register, "Optional Practical Training Fees" (proposed rule, 2026-10-08): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/08/2026-20660/optional-practical-training-fees
- Study in the States, DHS proposed OPT fee summary: https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/2026/10/dhs-publishes-proposed-rule-establishing-fees-for-optional-practical-training
- USCIS, Form I-765: https://www.uscis.gov/i-765
- USCIS, Form G-1055 fee schedule: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/g-1055.pdf
- SEVP, OPT unemployment guidance: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2101-01.pdf
This article explains how a proposed rule works. It is not legal advice, and your own I-20, EAD and DSO guidance govern over anything published here.
If you want a structured, visa-aware plan for your OPT or STEM OPT job search while the rules are in motion, talk to F1Jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Will employers have to pay the proposed OPT fee?
Not under the text DHS proposed. Under proposed 8 CFR 214.13(i), the SEVP-certified school pays the fee before the DSO issues an OPT recommendation, and the money goes to the Treasury rather than being tied to any employer. DHS does say schools may pass the cost on to F-1 students, all students, or employers, so how each school responds matters. The rule is only proposed as of October 2026.
Does the proposed OPT fee apply to me if I already have OPT?
The proposal would apply only to DSO recommendations dated 60 or more days after a final rule is published. OPT that is already authorized appears to be unaffected, based on the prospective transition language, though that is an inference rather than an explicit statement. Confirm how it applies to your own record with your DSO.
Is the $70,000 OPT fee in effect now?
No. DHS published it as a proposed rule on October 8, 2026, and public comments close November 9, 2026. There is no final rule, and today you still pay only the current I-765 fee, plus the $1,780 premium processing fee if you choose premium processing.
Should I bring up the OPT fee proposal with an employer?
You generally do not need to raise it first, but you should be ready to explain it accurately if a recruiter asks. The short version is that it is proposed, the school is the legal payer, and it does not change how OPT works for an employer today. Keep it factual and point them to the Federal Register notice.
Does the OPT fee proposal affect CPT?
No, CPT is outside the scope of the proposed OPT fee. CPT is governed separately by SEVP broadcasts issued in August 2026, which are in effect as guidance and are being challenged in federal court, with a hearing set for November 6, 2026. Ask your DSO how your school is handling CPT.