India has reacted to reports that the Trump administration is considering a $100,000 fee for international students who want to work in the US after finishing their studies.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said immigration is a sovereign issue for every country. At the same time, India will continue to raise concerns with foreign governments whenever changes could affect Indian students.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government takes up such matters with the countries involved.
“Immigration issues are a sovereign matter. But I want to say that we do raise issues with foreign governments when we have to protect the interests of our students,” Jaiswal told reporters.
His comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration was considering a six-figure fee for the Optional Practical Training, or OPT, programme.
The proposed fee is the latest in a series of immigration measures under the Trump administration. It follows the earlier move to introduce a $100,000 fee for certain H-1B visa petitions, while the administration is also reportedly considering a $100,000 bond for green card applicants living outside the US.
Breaking: India reacts to reports that America plans $100,000 fee for foreign students working in US
— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) July 31, 2026
"Immigration issues are a sovereign matter. But I want to say that we do raise issues with foreign governments when we have to protect the interests of our students" pic.twitter.com/3dnXBVZmyT
Indian students could be among the hardest hit
The proposed $100,000 fee could have a particularly large impact on Indian students.
India sends a huge number of students to US universities, and many of them study technical subjects that qualify for STEM OPT extensions.
For students and their families, the cost of studying in the US is already high. A fee of nearly Rs 96.4 lakh on top of tuition, living expenses and other education costs could make the decision to study in America much harder.
The proposal could also affect the US universities that depend heavily on international students for tuition revenue.
Many international students pay high or full tuition fees, making them an important source of income for American universities.
Major companies in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street could also feel the impact. These firms hire a large share of international graduates, particularly for technical and other skilled jobs.
Apart from India, China, South Korea, Canada, Vietnam, Nepal, Taiwan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Brazil are among the other major countries sending students to US universities.
Trump admin weighs new OPT charge
The plan is still being discussed and has not become a rule. But if it goes ahead, it could make the US a much less attractive choice for international students and would be another major step in President Donald Trump’s efforts to tighten legal immigration.
The proposed fee would apply to the OPT programme, which allows foreign students who graduate from US universities to work in the country after completing their degrees.
OPT is linked to the F-1 student visa. It normally allows graduates to work for up to 12 months in jobs connected to their field of study.
Students who graduate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields can get an extension, allowing them to work for up to 36 months in total.
Around 419,000 foreign nationals were working under OPT in 2024, the latest year for which data is available. OPT was introduced in 1992 and has become an important link between the F-1 student visa and the H-1B work visa.
Proposal comes after H-1B fee fight
The OPT proposal comes after the Trump administration’s earlier attempt to introduce a $100,000 fee for certain H-1B visas.
That plan faced strong opposition from technology companies, which depend heavily on international graduates and skilled foreign workers.
A US court overturned the previous H-1B fee plan, but a final decision is still pending as the administration plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The new OPT proposal could therefore become another major point of conflict between the administration, universities, technology companies and immigration groups.
Government says nothing is final yet
The Department of Homeland Security has stressed that the OPT fee is not yet a final policy. A DHS spokeswoman said, “No policies should be considered final until formally announced.”
She added that the department is continually looking at how to use every tool available to protect the integrity of the legal immigration system. This means the administration could still change the proposal or decide not to move ahead with it.
Another $100,000 plan for green card applicants
The OPT proposal is not the only major immigration-related fee being considered by the Trump administration. State Department officials are also looking at a $100,000 bond for green card applicants who are outside the US.
Under the proposal, the money would be refundable, but only after the applicant moves to the US and eventually becomes a US citizen.
The possible bond would add another major financial hurdle for people trying to move to America permanently.