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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a proposed rule, that if implemented, would impose new fees of $70,000 and $30,000 for F-1 students applying for practical training. The $70,000 fee would apply to the initial Optional Practical Training (OPT) application, whether pre-completion or post-completion OPT. The $30,000 fee would apply to any subsequent OPT application, including STEM OPT. The proposed rule requires the SEVP-certified school to pay the fee before endorsing any F-1 student for OPT. There is a provision that allows for other parties to reimburse or to pay for the fee as well.

As background, OPT...

THIRD UPDATE TO ALERT BELOW:

While the multiple lawsuits challenging the $100,000 H-1B fee rule are still ongoing, the White House just renewed the rule. Per the terms of the rule issued last September, the rule was to expire on September 20, 2026. Today, the White House extended the $100,000 fee rule for another year; it is unclear how this would impact the ongoing lawsuits. Employers filing for H-1Bs subject to this rule (essentially where the beneficiary is not currently in legal status in the U.S.) should proceed with caution. In a separate proclamation, the White House encouraged coordination...

LATE-BREAKING UPDATE:

Three organizations representing colleges, universities, and educators, along with four labor organizations, brought a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) challenging the implementation of a new rule that was set to be implemented tomorrow (September 15, 2026). This new rule would change the way students, researchers, foreign exchange individuals, and journalists have been allowed to remain in the U.S. Criticizing the government for its two purported reasons for the new rule: (1) national security and (2) prevention of fraud and abuse, while balancing the irreparable harm the rule would bring to organizations represented by the...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a new rule that would end the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s exercise of discretion to grant a 60-day grace period to individuals whose employment terminates prematurely. In short, this means that if an individual is in the U.S. pursuant to an employment-based nonimmigrant status and the employment relationship ends, then the individual must leave the U.S. right away. The public comment period for this proposed rule ends November 10, 2026.

Other than U.S. citizens and permanent residents, most individuals are admitted into the U.S. pursuant to a specific nonimmigrant visa status...

There is an idiom “death by a thousand cuts” which describes the act of torturing or terminating someone over a slow period of time. Regardless of whether one would consider the last year since the issuance of the White House’s $100,000 H-1B fee proclamation as slow, the White House has taken yet another action that could terminate the H-1B visa program. Instead of a thousand cuts, the H-1B program is suffering “death by a hundred thousand dollars.”

In September 2025, the White House issued a proclamation which added a $100,000 fee to those applying for the H-1B visa. There was...

UPDATE: USCIS has just extended work authorization for those which pending EAD renewal applications until September 9, 2026 for those with TPS from El Salvador and until October 19, 2026 for those with TPS from Sudan and Ukraine. See below for context and stay tuned for developing news.

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Over the last few months, employers have been monitoring countless changes by the administration and by courts regarding who can continue to work and who cannot. Many employees are authorized to work in the United States pursuant to their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the employment authorization documents (EADs) that...