Cincinnati Immigration Lawyer Blog

DHS Proposes Unprecedented $70,000 Fee for F-1 Student OPT: What You Need to Know

Christopher M. Pogue, Esq — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:26:00 CDT

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have officially published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would fundamentally transform the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for international students.

Under Docket No. ICEB-2026-0100, the U.S. government is proposing massive new filing fees for F-1 nonimmigrant students seeking post-graduation or pre-completion work authorization in the United States.

Below is a breakdown of what is being proposed, who pays, how the process would work, and what F-1 students and universities need to know right now.

Key Takeaways: The Proposed Fee Structure

If finalized in its current form, the proposed rule would impose two major fees on OPT participation:

$70,000 Initial OPT Fee: Required for any F-1 student's first time participating in OPT (whether pre-completion or post-completion).
$30,000 Subsequent OPT Fee: Required for any subsequent OPT recommendation, including the 24-month STEM OPT extension or subsequent OPT periods at new degree levels.

Who is required to pay?

Technically, the University: The rule explicitly places the legal obligation on SEVP-certified educational institutions. A Designated School Official (DSO) cannot recommend a student for OPT in SEVIS until the school confirms payment of the fee.
In Practice, Students or Employers: DHS explicitly acknowledges in the proposed rule that universities may choose to pass this financial burden directly onto F-1 students, all enrolled students, or prospective U.S. employers.

How the Proposed Process Would Work

Fee Payment: The school must pay the applicable fee ($70,000 or $30,000) before issuing the OPT recommendation.
SEVIS Update: The DSO verifies payment and records confirmation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
Form I-20 Issuance: The DSO provides the student with a signed Form I-20 containing confirmation of the fee payment.
USCIS Adjudication: The student files Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS will not approve an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if the fee has not been paid.

What about refunds?

Universities may request a refund on a case-by-case basis only if the student's EAD application is denied or canceled before approval. Once USCIS grants an EAD, the fee becomes completely non-refundable under any circumstances.

Why Is DHS Proposing These Fees?

In the rule, DHS cites three main reasons for imposing these unprecedented financial requirements:

Combating Fraud & Abuse: DHS claims to have identified significant fraud schemes involving shell companies, improper employment records, and "pay-to-stay" arrangements within the OPT program.
Leveling Costs with the H-1B Visa: DHS states that the $70,000 fee is designed to align with corporate expenses associated with H-1B visas, aiming to prevent companies from using OPT to bypass H-1B annual caps and filing fees.
Protecting U.S. Workers: The agency argues that the surge in foreign STEM graduates on OPT impacts entry-level job opportunities and wage structures for U.S. workers.

Timeline: Is This Law Right Now?

No. This is currently a PROPOSED RULE, not a final law.

Before any of these changes can take effect, the rule must go through the standard federal rulemaking process:

30-Day Public Comment Period: The public, universities, students, and employers have 30 days from the publication date to submit formal comments, objections, and feedback on www.regulations.gov.
60-Day Implementation Window: If DHS issues a Final Rule following the public comment period, the changes are scheduled to take effect 60 days after publication.
Prospective Application: DHS proposes to apply the fee only to new OPT recommendations issued by a DSO on or after the effective date. Students who have already received a DSO recommendation or an approved EAD prior to the effective date would not be retroactively charged for that period.

What Should F-1 Students Do Now?

Do Not Panic, But Stay Informed: Because this is an NPRM, OPT rules remain unchanged today. However, students planning to apply for OPT in the coming terms should follow updates closely.
Consult Your International Student Office (ISSS): Speak with your university’s DSOs to understand how your institution plans to handle OPT recommendations during this transition period.
Submit a Public Comment: Individuals and institutions affected by federal rulemaking have the right to voice their perspectives. You can submit comments online by searching Docket ICEB-2026-0100 on Regulations.gov during the 30-day window.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal advice. If you have specific questions regarding your F-1 visa status, OPT eligibility, or immigration strategy, please consult with an experienced immigration attorney.

USCIS's use of AI in Decision for Marriage Based Immigration

Christopher M. Pogue, Esq — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:26:00 CDT

In marriage-based green card cases (Forms I-130 and I-485), as well as petitions to remove green card conditions (Form I-751), AI tools act as automated "gatekeepers" and anomaly detectors.

Instead of deciding if a marriage is real, the AI scans the digital file for irregularities and data inconsistencies before a human officer conducts the live interview. If the algorithm finds deviations from expected patterns, it flags the file for deeper investigation.

AI tools operate in marriage cases across several key dimensions:

1. Document Template & "Boilerplate" Identification

Many fraudulent marriage rings or lower-quality document preparers reuse the same templates for affidavits, cover letters, and lease agreements.

How it works: Tools like the Text Analytics Sentence Similarity Model scan digitized narrative statements (such as letters of support from friends and family). If the AI detects identical phrasing, sentence structures, or paragraph formats that match templates used in other cases under investigation, it flags the case for fraud review.

2. Multi-Agency Data Interrogation

The software cross-references the couple's application against vast external federal and state databases.

Financial & Tax Discrepancies: On the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), the AI compares the listed income numbers directly against IRS transcripts. It flags the case if tax returns show a sponsor filing as "Single" or "Head of Household" when they claim to be married on the immigration forms.
Address Mismatches: The system aggregates DMV, credit, and Social Security records. If the U.S. citizen spouse's driver’s license or active credit cards register a completely different primary address than the couple's stated marital residence, the AI automatically triggers a warning.

3. Financial Activity Monitoring

For Form I-751 (removing conditions after two years), couples must prove a continuing shared life.

How it works: AI tools scan uploaded bank statements and utility bills. Rather than just verifying that a bank account exists, the algorithm checks for active transaction history. If the AI detects that a joint bank account has a static balance with zero daily usage, utilities, or grocery purchases, it flags the evidence as potentially staged, often resulting in an immediate Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny.

4. Real-Time Interview Screening

AI significantly impacts the live marriage interview. Before the couple enters the room, the officer's desktop dashboard highlights automated data cross-checks.

How it works: The AI instantly cross-checks what the applicant says or submits against biographical information they provided years or decades prior (such as on an old tourist, student, or work visa application). If an applicant once claimed an entirely different employment or marital history on a past DS-160 visa form, the AI highlights this conflict. This allows the officer to conduct much deeper, targeted lines of questioning during the interview to catch misrepresentations.

The AI Technologies USCIS is relying on...

1. Palantir Technologies (Data Analytics & Scheduling Optimization)

USCIS partnered with Palantir Technologies alongside MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to revamp its scheduling workflows.

How it works: This system was designed to address massive green card, asylum, and naturalization backlogs by actively analyzing and modeling field office capacities, historical processing times, and regional bottlenecks to dynamically automate interview and biometrics scheduling.
Broader DHS Integration: Palantir also holds expansive contracts with USCIS’s sister agencies (like ICE and CBP) for its ImmigrationOS suite, which aggregates multi-agency data pipelines to flag compliance errors, analyze employer registration patterns, and manage data deduplication models.

2. General-Purpose Generative AI (Approved Commercially Available Models)

DHS enterprise guidelines permit USCIS personnel to utilize standard commercial generative AI chatbots and Large Language Models (LLMs) via secure, internal sandboxes.

How it works: Under strict privacy controls (omitting sensitive applicant personal information), officers and analysts use these tools for day-to-day administrative functions. This includes generating initial summaries of complex open-source country-of-origin research, translating operational documentation, and structuring internal meeting briefs.

3. Proprietary In-House Custom Models & Federal Databases

Rather than relying on a single third-party product, USCIS heavily embeds customized machine learning protocols directly into pre-existing federal architecture:

IDENT/HART Biometric Matching (Facial Recognition): For applications like the Form I-765 (Employment Authorization), USCIS relies on the federal IDENT biometric database. The integrated machine learning model processes 1:1 facial recognition validation, ensuring that identity biometrics match the database records exactly and preventing identity fraud.
ARGOS (Automated Realtime Global Organization Specialist): A specialized data integration system utilized to verify business registrations and company profiles submitted during the E-Verify employer verification process.
PAiTH (Private Artificial Intelligence Tech Hub): USCIS’s proprietary internal environment that provisions role-specific AI tools for agency staff. This includes the AI Interview Simulator, a machine learning tool trained to mimic live interviews so newer officers can practice and refine their line-of-questioning and case review methodologies.

4. Advanced Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Software

USCIS actively scales its automated open-source background checks. The agency relies on multi-million dollar software environments to allow security analysts to automatically pull, filter, and analyze real-time public data and social media elements, surfacing derogatory patterns or material inconsistencies automatically without requiring hours of manual searching.