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Trump administration weighs US$100,000 fee for students to use OPT

The proposed charge would affect Optional Practical Training, a post graduation program that lets student visa holders gain work experience, and OPT covered nearly 300,000 international students as of last fall.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Trade & Tariffs

The Trump administration is considering a plan to charge international students US$100,000 to remain in the United States and work after graduation, according to a person familiar with the deliberations cited by SCMP Economy.

The outlet reports that a White House official said there is no imminent policy change, but did not rule out the proposal being considered.

If adopted, the fee could make a key post graduation visa extension difficult for many students. The extension is called Optional Practical Training, or OPT, which administration officials have targeted in the past by arguing it can enable visa fraud and overstays.

SCMP Economy adds that OPT is central to the international student pipeline, and that there were almost 300,000 international students on OPT as of last fall, about a quarter of the foreign student population in the US.

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