"US weighs $100,000 fee on OPT visas for international graduates"
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
F-1 visa extension allowing international graduates to work in the US for 1–3 years in their field of study
F-1 Visa
primary US non-immigrant visa category for full-time academic study at accredited institutions
The United States has long maintained a layered immigration architecture for international students and skilled workers. The F-1 visa is the primary non-immigrant category for full-time academic study at accredited US institutions. Embedded within this framework is the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme — an extension of the F-1 visa administered by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — which permits foreign graduates to work in the US for up to one year in a field directly related to their degree, extendable to three years for graduates in STEM disciplines.
OPT was not created by an Act of Congress but is instead an administratively established programme, making it more vulnerable to executive-branch modification than legislatively anchored visa categories such as the H-1B. The H-1B visa, by contrast, is grounded in Section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Immigration Act of 1990, which set its annual numerical cap at 85,000 slots (65,000 regular plus 20,000 for advanced-degree holders). The constitutional principle governing both categories is Congressional supremacy over immigration: fee-setting and eligibility conditions are legislative prerogatives, and executive modifications that amount to a tax require explicit statutory delegation — a constraint reinforced by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
For India, these programmes are not peripheral policy details. Indian nationals have historically dominated H-1B approvals, and a substantial share of OPT participants are Indian-origin graduates from US universities. The OPT pathway functions as a critical bridge between Indian students' academic investment in the US and their eventual entry into the American skilled-labour market — or, if disrupted, their return to India or redirection to third countries.
The OPT programme currently allows approximately 4,19,000 foreign nationals to work in the US on student-visa extensions, making it one of the largest channels through which international graduates enter the American workforce. For STEM graduates, the extension period of up to three years effectively functions as a transitional work authorisation that bridges the gap between graduation and H-1B sponsorship — a gap that would otherwise force immediate departure from the US.
The proposed $1,00,000 fee on OPT visas represents a qualitatively different kind of restriction from numerical caps or eligibility tightening. At that price point, the fee would be prohibitive for the vast majority of international students, effectively converting a regulatory instrument into a near-total barrier. Unlike the H-1B fee proposal — which a US District Court struck down as an unlawful executive tax imposed without Congressional authorisation, a ruling the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay — an OPT fee faces a more complex legal landscape because OPT itself is an administratively created programme, potentially giving the executive broader latitude to modify its conditions. …
Consider the following statements about platforms for multilateral co-operation:
1.The 'Colombo Process' is a regional consultative process in which member states take binding decisions by consensus.
2.The 'Abu Dhabi Dialogue' is a voluntary non-binding consultative process among Asian countries of labour origin and destination to facilitate regional cooperation on contractual labour mobility.
3.The 'Global Forum for Migration and Development', created upon the proposal of a former UN Secretary General, is a voluntary forum whose decisions are non-binding in nature.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme in the United States, consider the following statements:
1.OPT is an extension of the F-1 student visa and is administered by the Department of Homeland Security.
2.The standard OPT period is one year, extendable to three years for STEM graduates.
3.OPT was established by an Act of the US Congress, giving it the same legislative protection as the H-1B visa.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The US executive branch's proposal to impose a $1,00,000 fee on H-1B visas was struck down by a US court primarily on the grounds that:
Which of the following best explains why a proposed fee on OPT visas may face a different legal challenge than the fee on H-1B visas in the United States?
Consider the following statements regarding the H-1B visa programme:
1.The annual numerical cap on H-1B visas is 85,000, comprising 65,000 regular visas and 20,000 for holders of US advanced degrees.
2.The H-1B visa is established under the Immigration Act of 1990 and Section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
3.Standard government filing fees for H-1B petitions range from $50,000 to $75,000 depending on employer size.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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