A Trump administration proposal could make it significantly more expensive for international students to work in the United States after graduation, adding uncertainty for some USC students already navigating internship and employment decisions.
The Department of Homeland Security, through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, submitted the proposal, titled “Optional Practical Training Fees,” for White House regulatory review Aug. 20. Although Forbes reported that the administration was considering a $100,000 fee, the proposal has not been made public, and the amount, who would pay it and how it would operate remain unclear.
The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed its review Sept. 11 and returned the proposal to DHS “consistent with change,” according to the federal regulatory record. The proposal has not been published, and no new OPT fee has taken effect.
For some international students at USC, the uncertainty surrounding the proposal has already affected how they think about internships and post-graduation employment.
Kevin Yu, a sophomore studying business administration, said the proposed fee has complicated his plans to pursue positions in finance and investment banking. Because recruiting for those fields begins early, Yu said he is unsure how much effort to invest in the process when future work authorization requirements remain uncertain.
“I think reasonably a lot of companies are going to start taking more domestic students as opposed to international students, so that definitely will impact us in a negative way when we’re looking for jobs,” Yu said. He said the change could make an already competitive job search more difficult for international students.
Yu, who is originally from Shanghai, said he had previously planned to remain in the United States after graduating. Although he has not abandoned that goal, recent policy changes have caused him to reconsider how feasible it would be.
“I’m just trying my best to adapt [to] whatever situation is right now,” Yu said.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Optional Practical Training allows eligible F-1 students to receive up to 12 months of temporary employment authorization related to their field of study. Students with qualifying science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees may apply for a 24-month STEM OPT extension, allowing them to work for up to 36 months in total.
Sophie Wang, a sophomore majoring in communication with minors in business finance and dance, described a different set of plans. Wang, who is from Beijing, said she already expected to return to China after graduation and therefore does not anticipate relying on OPT herself.
Still, she said the proposal could have a larger effect on other international students she knows who came to USC partly because of the professional connections and internship opportunities available in Los Angeles. The changing environment has also made Wang more interested in studying abroad in London, where she hopes to explore additional networking and career opportunities.
The fee proposal follows DHS’s termination of the duration of status rule in July, which replaced the previous duration-of-status system with fixed periods of stay based on students’ program end dates, and more recent changes surrounding Curricular Practical Training.
According to the Department of Homeland Security’s Study in the States guidance, CPT allows F-1 students to participate in practical training that is directly related to their field of study and is an integral part of an established curriculum.
On Aug. 24, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program issued new guidance clarifying that CPT must be an integral and required part of an established curriculum and must apply to all students participating in the program, regardless of citizenship. The following day, the USC Office of International Services notified students that, in accordance with the guidance, “CPT requests will only be authorized when practical training is a degree requirement for graduation.”
Wang said students in her community appeared more familiar with the CPT changes than with the possible OPT fee. Although she receives updates from the USC Office of International Services, she said many of the students she spoke with had not heard about the fee proposal.
“I feel like we’re not well-informed,” Wang said.
According to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the proposal remains at the proposed-rule stage and has no listed publication date. No new OPT fee is currently in effect, and its amount, scope, and payment requirements remain undetermined.
Edited by Zayane El Solh