This page serves to provide resources for higher education institutions submitting a comment letter regarding the proposal for OPT fees before the public comment deadline ends on November 9, 2026. It will be continuously updated.
For more information, please visit NAFSA's page on the proposed rule titled, Optional Practical Training Fees.
NAFSA Resources
- October 21 NAFSA Webinar: Understanding DHS's Proposed Rule on Optional Practical Training Fees: Analysis, Impact, and Advocacy Resources
- NAFSA's Portal Page on DHS Rulemaking on OPT Fees
- Policy Brief: The Benefits of F-1 Optional Practical Training
- Advocacy Campaign: Support the Keep Innovators in America Act to codify OPT
- International Student Economic Value Tool
External Explainers and Comment Guidance
- Institute for Progress OPT Explainer
- Institute for Progress OPT Comment Guide
- How You Can Effectively Participate in the Regulatory Process
Through Public Comment (Regulations.gov)
Publications and Reports Related to OPT Fees
- Taxes on International Students: Demand and Supply Response for Post-Graduation Foreign Workers on Optional Practical Training by Michael A. Clemens (IZA, September 2026)
- How Global Talent Pathways Shape U.S. STEM Award Achievement (Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, September 2026)
- International Student Survey on OPT and Experiential Learning (Institute for Progress, October 2026)
- "The 2026 US Talent Report: Benchmarking America's STEM Pipeline Amid the Great Talent Competition" (The Hoover Institution, September 2026)
- A $100,000 tax on foreign students means fewer opportunities for American workers (Economic Innovation Group, September 2026)
- DHS Immigration Rule Proposes $100,000 In Practical Training Fees by Stuart Anderson (Forbes, October 2026)
- Immigrant Entrepreneurs and US Billion Dollar Companies by Stuart Anderson (NFAP, June 2026)
- Brain Freeze: How International Student Exclusion Will Shape the STEM Workforce and Economic Growth in the United States (October 2025)
Prior Research on the Benefits of OPT
- The Impact on US Men and Women in STEM Fields of Increases in International Students by Madeline Zavodny (NFAP, April 2021)
- International Students, STEM OPT, and the US STEM Workforce by Madeline Zavodny (NFAP, March 2019)
- New research: Foreign students in STEM don't hurt American workers (Niskanen Center, August 2023)
- Optional Practical Training (OPT) and International Students After Graduation (Niskanen Center, March 2019)