US to Impose Nearly W 100 Million Fee on International Students Seeking Employment... W 40 Million for Extensions

The Donald Trump administration announced a plan on October 7 (local time) to impose a fee approaching 100 million won on foreign graduates of US universities seeking employment in the United States.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a press release that day that it has proposed a new regulation imposing a fee on non-immigrant students on F-1 student visas who wish to participate in Optional Practical Training (OPT), a temporary employment authorization linked to their field of study.

According to the proposed regulation, F-1 visa holders would be charged 70,000 dollars (approximately 93.8 million won) when applying for OPT for the first time, and 30,000 dollars (approximately 40 million won) for subsequent applications.

A DHS spokesperson stated regarding OPT that it is not a "backdoor into the US labor market, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a reward for those who abuse the system," adding, "American workers should not have to compete with a program that has devolved into a pipeline for cheap foreign labor."

OPT is a program that allows foreigners who have attended undergraduate or graduate schools in the US to work using their existing F-1 visa without obtaining a new employment visa.

Generally, applying for OPT allows a one-year stay extension, but for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, an additional two years has been permitted for a maximum stay of up to three years.

DHS explained that this regulatory proposal follows the detection of OPT-related fraud and abuse cases by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It further stated that under the new fee policy, "We believe this will incentivize schools to apply stricter oversight and screening standards when recommending F-1 non-immigrant students for OPT, helping to reduce fraud and strengthen the integrity of the program."

DHS stated that "if schools fail to pay the required fee, USCIS will not grant employment authorization to the F-1 non-immigrant student," designating 'schools' as the subject responsible for fee payment.

However, as universities are unlikely to cover the OPT program applicant fees on behalf of students, the fees are widely seen as likely to be borne in practice by the students or the companies seeking to hire international students.

The proposed regulation is scheduled to be finalized and implemented following a 60-day public comment period and other procedures.

However, the Associated Press reported that implementation could be delayed if universities or business-related organizations file lawsuits.

Regarding this measure, the AP noted, "These changes would deal a blow to US universities and some businesses," adding, "US universities actively recruit international students as a source of tuition revenue. Technology companies and other industries also hire many international students for technical positions."

Doug Rand, who served as a senior advisor at USCIS during the preceding Joe Biden administration, told the AP that he expects this fee to also be invalidated in court, criticizing, "If we educate international students at our universities and they exercise their talents here after graduation, we should naturally welcome them, not drive them away with outrageous fees."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.