The US OPT fee proposal: what it really means for your study loan

What the US government has actually proposed

• On 7 October 2026 the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule on fees for Optional Practical Training, or OPT. The notice was published in the Federal Register on 8 October 2026.
• The proposal is USD 70,000 for an initial OPT grant and USD 30,000 for any later OPT period, which includes the STEM OPT extension.
• The fee is owed by the school, not by the student. The notice says schools may pass the cost on to students or employers.
• It is a proposed rule, not a final one. Public comments are open until 9 November 2026. If a final rule is published, DHS proposes that it takes effect 60 days after publication.
• Until a final rule is published and takes effect, current OPT rules stay in force.

In rupees, at 1 USD = Rs 95.1 (the rate stored on this site, checked 23 October 2026), USD 70,000 is about Rs 66.6 lakh and USD 30,000 is about Rs 28.5 lakh. These are conversions for scale. They are not a bill any student has been sent.

What is NOT decided

• Whether the rule will be finalised, changed or dropped after comments.
• Whether schools will absorb the fee, pass it on, or reduce their OPT recommendations. The notice says they may pass it on. It does not say what each school will do.
• How the fee would apply to students already enrolled. We did not find this in the sources we read, so we do not state it.

Anyone who gives you a firm answer on these today is guessing.

A second US rule that was paused

A separate DHS rule would have replaced "duration of status" for F-1 students with fixed admission periods. It was due to take effect on 15 September 2026. On 14 September 2026 a federal court in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction (Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS). Yale's international office, updated 13 October 2026, says the current duration-of-status system stays in place for now and calls the order preliminary, not final. An appeal is possible and the case is continuing.

Separately, immigration-law commentary describes guidance from the US student-visa programme office, dated 12 and 24 August 2026, that narrows when practical training counts as Curricular Practical Training. That guidance is not affected by the court order.

Why a loan makes this personal

A US education loan is usually repaid from a US or global salary that starts after study. If the work path becomes slower, costlier or less certain, the part of your plan that breaks first is the date your EMI becomes affordable.

Here is simple arithmetic you can check yourself. On Rs 30 lakh at 9 to 10 percent, one month of simple interest is about Rs 22,500 to Rs 25,000. A 6 month delay in the first salary, while interest keeps building, is about Rs 1.35 to 1.5 lakh. A 12 month delay is about Rs 2.7 to 3 lakh. That is an illustration of the maths on a simple-interest basis, not a quote. Your lender's terms decide how interest is charged and whether unpaid interest is added to the loan. For example, SBI's scheme page states simple interest during the course plus moratorium, with accrued moratorium interest added to principal.

This is not a prediction that your job will be delayed. It is a reason to test the plan before you sign.

Five checks before you take a loan for the US

1. Run the Bad scenario. In the calculator, the Bad scenario assumes the first job starts 9 months later and pays 70 percent of the salary you enter. If that EMI feels heavy, the loan may be too big. Open the calculator and Reality Check.
2. Ask what happens if your work plans change. Ask the lender in writing: if my work authorisation or job start is delayed, does the moratorium or EMI start date change? Does interest keep building? What are the penalties?
3. Separate the loan from the OPT plan. Check whether the loan is affordable on a cautious first salary, not only on the best case.
4. Keep a Plan B. Compare at least one other country or a lower-cost course. Read the USA guide and the living cost guide.
5. Watch three dates. 9 November 2026 (comment period ends), the publication of any final OPT rule, and updates in the duration-of-status case. See site updates.

What this site will and will not do

We do not recommend or rank lenders, and no lender pays us. We do not promise visas, jobs or salaries. We will update this post if the proposal changes.

Read next: Education loan interest rate abroad: what to check and lender terms.

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