The administration of United States President Donald Trump has proposed a $70,000 fee for international students seeking to work in the country after graduation, a move that could affect Nigerian students and other foreign nationals.
The proposal by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would require schools to pay the fee for each international student participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme.
OPT allows eligible foreign students to gain practical work experience in the United States in jobs related to their fields of study while they are still students or after graduation.
International students are generally allowed to work for up to one year after completing their studies through OPT, while graduates in certain science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields can qualify for an additional two years.
Under the proposed rule, the fee would be $70,000 for each student’s initial OPT application and $30,000 for each renewal, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The proposed charges could have significant implications for Nigerian students and other international graduates who depend on OPT to gain professional experience in the US after completing their studies.
US universities also rely heavily on international students for tuition revenue, while American technology companies and other employers recruit foreign graduates for specialised and technical positions.
Fanta Aw, Chief Executive Officer of NAFSA, an association representing international education, criticised the proposal, arguing that OPT provides international students with practical experience while helping American employers address labour shortages, particularly in STEM fields.
“Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership,” Aw said in a written statement.
However, DHS defended the proposal, saying it was aimed at addressing what it described as fraud and abuse within the OPT programme.
The department characterised OPT as a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”
The proposal will be open to public comments for 60 days, after which DHS may decide whether to finalise and implement the rule.
The proposed fee could also face legal challenges from higher education organisations and business groups, potentially delaying its implementation.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to tighten immigration rules and increase scrutiny of international students and foreign workers in the United States.
The administration has previously terminated the legal status of thousands of international students, with some subsequently detained or deported.
It also finalised a rule this summer seeking to limit international students’ stay in the US to four years unless they obtain federal approval to remain longer. The measure drew criticism from higher education leaders, who argued that it would place additional burdens on universities and affect students enrolled in degree programmes that take more than four years to complete.
A federal court blocked the rule from taking effect in September.
Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at US Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, predicted that the proposed OPT fee would also face legal challenges.
Rand compared the proposal with a $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B work visas, which are widely used by technology companies and universities to recruit skilled foreign workers.
He argued that imposing high fees would not address the underlying issues.
“When we educate international students at our universities, and they want to work and apply their talents here after graduating, of course we should embrace them — not use an exorbitant fee as a pretext to send them packing,” Rand said in an email.
