The Trump administration is exploring a proposal that would require international students to pay a $100,000 fee to participate in a program allowing them to work in the United States after graduating from an American university, according to people familiar with the discussions. Such a move could sharply reduce the appeal of pursuing higher education in the U.S. for students from abroad.
If implemented, the proposal would expand President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb legal immigration while creating new challenges for universities and employers that rely heavily on international graduates. Many colleges depend on foreign students for tuition income, and companies in the technology and finance sectors have long viewed graduates of U.S. universities as an important source of skilled talent.
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The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is considering attaching the fee to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which permits eligible international graduates to work in the United States for up to three years, depending on their field of study. Government data shows that approximately 419,000 international graduates were employed under the program in 2024.
The proposal follows the administration’s unsuccessful attempt to introduce a similar $100,000 charge tied to H-1B visas. That measure, which drew strong criticism from the technology industry, was halted after a federal appeals court in Boston blocked the government from enforcing it last week.
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Officials had originally intended the H-1B fee to apply broadly, but after pushback from large technology companies, the proposal was narrowed to cover only certain foreign professionals entering the country directly on H-1B visas.
The latest proposal shifts the focus to graduates already studying in the United States. While outsourcing and consulting firms frequently hire workers from overseas through the H-1B program, many of the country’s largest technology and financial companies recruit international students from American campuses, employ them through OPT after graduation, and later sponsor them for H-1B visas. Imposing a substantial fee on OPT participation would directly affect that hiring pipeline, potentially increasing costs for both employers and international graduates.