"Trump Administration Considering USD 100,000 'Employment Fee' for Foreign Graduates"

The Donald Trump administration is considering imposing a 100,000 USD (approx. 142 million KRW) fee on foreign students graduating from U.S. universities when they seek employment in the United States, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 30th local time.

According to the report, this fee would apply to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.

OPT is a program that allows foreigners who have attended undergraduate and graduate schools in the U.S. to find jobs and work using only their student visa (F-1) without obtaining a new work visa.

As of 2024, approximately 419,000 foreigners were working at U.S. companies through OPT. If a 100,000 USD fee were charged to each of them, the U.S. government would generate 41.9 billion USD (approx. 60 trillion KRW) in revenue.

This measure is also interpreted as part of the second Trump administration's policy to restrict nearly all forms of foreign visas that allow legal stays in the United States.

The Trump administration originally planned to apply this fee to H-1B (specialty occupation) visas.

President Trump signed a proclamation last September raising the H-1B visa fee to 100,000 USD, which is 100 times the current 1,000 USD.

However, this measure was ruled illegal by a Massachusetts federal court last June, and was also blocked by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on the 24th.

It is interpreted that the Trump administration has thus shifted its visa restriction method to imposing a fee on the OPT program, which is the pre-stage to receiving an H-1B visa.

The WSJ analyzed that, "In this regard, the new fee imposed on OPT will target these companies more directly."

However, U.S. officials noted that this measure is still under discussion within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and it remains unclear whether the White House will approve it.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.