As the Trump administration considers new restrictions on international students and a proposed $100,000 fee for OPT work authorization, families in India are increasingly questioning the value of a U.S. degree and its path to employment.
In the fall of 2025, Manvi Singh, a marketing professional from Delhi, India, sent her only son to the United States to pursue higher education. Although the Trump administration had already begun tightening immigration policies, securing admission to a top U.S. university and obtaining an F-1 student visa still felt like a major milestone.
Now, as the administration moves to further restrict F-1 visas and the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program—two of the main pathways that allow international students to study and gain work experience in the United States—Singh says she is beginning to question that decision.
Speaking to The American Bazaar by phone from Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, Singh said, “These days often my husband and I debate that the amount of money we are spending on our kids’ education could have secured his future back here in India complete with a house of his own. And today, we don’t even know if he would be able to get even an internship in the U.S.”
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The Singh family is far from alone. Many international students and their families are already trying to understand the impact of the administration’s proposed rule to eliminate “duration of status” for F-1 visa holders. Now, reports that the administration is considering imposing a $100,000 fee on international graduates seeking work authorization through the OPT program have intensified concerns about whether a U.S. degree remains a worthwhile investment.
While the proposal remains under discussion and no formal rule has been published, immigration experts say such a policy could fundamentally alter the value and appeal of an American education for international students.
For families worried about the possibility of such a fee, Maryland-based immigration attorney Kevin J. Andrews, founder of Kevin J. Andrews Law, urged caution.
“As of now there is no rule, proclamation or Federal Register notice. Just a media outlet reporting an anonymous source, and a White House official who said nothing is imminent without denying the idea exists,” Andrews said.
The OPT program allows international graduates to remain in the United States for one to three years after earning a degree, depending on their field of study. For many students, it provides a critical opportunity to gain U.S. work experience while helping repay the substantial cost of their education.
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Nishi Arora, who completed a culinary program at a leading U.S. institute and now runs a home kitchen business in India, said the program was an important financial lifeline.
“Back in our days, the OPT program offered as an avenue to somewhat offset the high tuition fee we were paying for our courses. Taking that away or imposing another fee besides the already astronomical college fee would virtually lead the students into a never-ending debt,” she said.
For now, thousands of students and their families remain in limbo as they await a final decision. Andrews advises them to focus on existing regulations rather than speculation.
“Plan around what is real. Students on or near OPT should file on the current schedule and track how the September 15 rule changes their admission period. Employers with workers moving from OPT to H-1B should plan around the new expiration limits for F-1 students and focus on keeping their talent inside the U.S.,” he said.
(Some names in this story have been changed at the request of the sources.)