The Trump administration is moving ahead with proposals that could sharply increase the cost of the H-1B and F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) programmes.
The Department of Homeland Security has started the regulatory process for new fees on certain H-1B petitions and OPT applications. However, the exact amounts have not yet been officially released. Immigration law firm Fragomen says the proposals remain confidential until they are published for public comment.
Reports suggest that DHS could propose a fee of around $100,000 for certain OPT applications. The proposed H-1B fee could also be linked to the administration’s earlier $100,000 H-1B fee policy, which was struck down by a federal court and remains tied up in litigation.
The H-1B proposal was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget on August 19 and cleared review the same day. A separate OPT fee proposal was submitted on August 20 and is still under review, according to Fragomen.
If eventually implemented, such steep fees could significantly increase costs for US employers sponsoring foreign workers and for international students trying to move from university to employment.
The development is especially important for Indians, who make up the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.
However, the new fees are not in force yet. Once the proposals are published, they are expected to go through a public comment period before DHS can issue any final rule and implementation date.
H-1B Workers Could Also Lose 60-Day Grace Period
In another major move, DHS is advancing a separate proposal to eliminate the discretionary 60-day grace period available to certain H-1B and other nonimmigrant workers after losing their jobs.
The proposal was sent for White House regulatory review earlier this month. If finalised, affected workers could lose the current breathing space they have to find another employer, change status or make other immigration arrangements after their employment ends.
Importantly, this change has also not taken effect yet. The existing up-to-60-day grace period remains available under current rules.
Taken together, the proposed higher fees and tighter grace-period rules signal another major tightening of the H-1B and international student immigration framework.
For now, employers, H-1B workers and international students will have to wait for the full text of the proposed fee regulations to know exactly who will be affected and how much they may have to pay.
