US proposes $70,000 fee for foreign students seeking temporary work

The United States has proposed a fee of $70,000, or approximately Rs 67 lakh, for foreign students seeking to participate in the optional practical training programme.

The programme allows foreign students to work in the US for one to two years in fields related to their education after completing their courses.

Under the proposed rule, institutes certified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program would be required to pay the fee before recommending foreign students for the programme, and before they apply for employment authorisation with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

More than 3.6 lakh Indian students were studying in the US during the academic year 2024-’25, according to data from the Institute of International Education. Over 1.4 lakh of them were participating in the optional practical training programme during the period.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday that the move was aimed at reducing the “flow of cheap labour” into the US and “make it easier for American citizens to compete in the job market”.

It also proposed introducing a fee of $30,000, or Rs 29 lakh, for any subsequent participation in the programme.

The programme “was never meant to be a back door into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labour, or a prize for those who game the system”, said a...

Read more