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11/09/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/10/2026 04:15

BU Leaders Object to Proposed Fee for International Students Seeking US Work

BU Leaders Object to Proposed Fee for International Students Seeking US Work

BU leaders have submitted a letter in opposition to the Department of Homeland Security's proposed fee for international students seeking US employment after graduation. Photo via iStock/ Neal McNeil

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BU Leaders Object to Proposed Fee for International Students Seeking US Work

The fee under the federal OPT program would hamper international students, President Melissa Gilliam and Provost Colin Duckett write to Department of Homeland Security

November 9, 2026
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Boston University President Melissa Gilliam and Provost Colin Duckett have objected to a proposed $70,000 fee for each international student who seeks post-graduation work in the United States through the federal Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. A letter from the BU leaders to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the fee, if enacted, would shrink the number of international students, a detriment to BU, Massachusetts employers, and communities nationwide.

"The reduced international enrollment resulting from the proposed rule would threaten the vibrancy of BU's classrooms and laboratories, impeding our ability to advance our academic and research missions," Gilliam and Duckett wrote. BU international students routinely say access to the current OPT program significantly affects their decisions to enroll at the University, the letter said.

Currently, international students pay an application fee of about $500 each under OPT, which permits work in the US for up to one year, or up to three years for STEM students, after they graduate. The proposed change would charge schools $70,000 for each international student that a school recommended for OPT for the first time, plus $30,000 per student that a school recommended for any subsequent period of OPT.

The BU leaders' letter, submitted during DHS's open-comment period, is part of broader opposition to the fee among colleges and universities, including from The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the Association of American Universities, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts.

DHS says the proposed fee addresses what has become a pool of foreign workers that competes with American job-seekers. But the BU letter said that many OPT students enter fields in Massachusetts and across the country that have "urgent needs" for workers, from health care and public service to education. Local employers relying on OPT employees include Boston Children's Hospital, Lynn Community Health Center, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the VA Boston Healthcare System. About half of BU's graduates using OPT do so in Massachusetts.

DHS suggests universities could pass on fees to students and employers. But "few students could afford a $70,000 charge, and many employers would struggle to pay it on top of a new graduate's wages," Gilliam and Duckett wrote. This would force BU to choose among eligible international students according to whether they or prospective employers could afford the fee, undermining "a program meant to help international students share their talents with small businesses, nonprofit employers, and public institutions contributing to BU's surrounding community and the nation."

BU's International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) has scheduled online workshops, that began Wednesday, October 28 and run until December, with guidance about the OPT process. Topics and registration are here.

Other University resources for international students are:

  • BU Support Pathways, an information hub for Terriers globally that includes free, confidential legal consultations with external immigration attorneys
  • Student Health Services' Peer Support programs, offering connections and mental health support from fellow students
  • The Center for Career Development's international students services.

BU Global Programs' ongoing update says that once DHS weighs submitted public comments and publishes the final rule in the Federal Register, the department has proposed the fee take effect 60 days after that, giving schools, employers, and F-1 nonimmigrant students (full-time international

students) time to prepare. "Litigation is likely to follow," the update says, "and would further delay any meaningful implementation, creating uncertainty for a realistic effective date."

[The proposed rule] creates immense and unwelcome uncertainty for our international student community… We sincerely hope that the administration will seriously reconsider their proposal."
Willis Wang

Willis Wang, BU's vice president and associate provost for global programs, says the proposed rule, with its new fee structure, "creates immense and unwelcome uncertainty for our international student community. If it becomes effective as proposed, it will severely limit an important opportunity for F-1 students to apply their education through practical experience. The fee structure will likely steer talented individuals away from the US, which will adversely impact innovation in our country."

Gilliam's and Duckett's letter noted that DHS estimates 27 percent fewer international students would participate initially in OPT under the fee change. That decline could reach 50 percent ultimately, the Department says.

Gilliam and Duckett concluded by saying, "BU is committed to welcoming talented individuals from around the world. Our university would not be what it is without them. The proposed rule would limit our students' access to OPT and deprive our campus, our region, and the nation of their talents."

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Boston University published this content on November 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 10, 2026 at 10:15 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]