What If OPT Cost $100,000?

02 / What is OPT?

Knowledge is useless without practice, so Optional Practical Training (OPT) lets many international graduates work in the field they studied.

An F-1 student can apply for up to 12 months of post-completion OPT. Some STEM graduates can later apply for a 24-month extension.

03 / Initial OPT

OPT brings part of that graduating class into the American workforce.

SEVIS records show 115,861 people starting initial post-completion OPT in FY2022. The blue block is the talent pool we follow from here.

A Asha completed an MS in computer science.

L Dr. Lin completed an engineering PhD and is entering a postdoc.

04 / Degrees and fields

More than half enter with a master's degree.

Master's graduates account for 60,577 entrants, followed by 37,310 bachelor's and 17,974 doctorates. Computer science, business, and engineering together make up 56.6%.

05 / What OPT connects

American employers put that training to work.

Most entrants—89,008—head to industry. Another 10,405 go to universities or research institutions.

Asha heads toward software. Dr. Lin heads toward a university postdoc.

06 / American workers

Does OPT displace American talent?

The strongest objection to OPT is that when an international graduate gets a job, an American applicant may not. The story, however, is not so clear.

07 / What research finds

Studies find effects in both directions.

A Census Bureau study of immigration broadly found small declines in native workers' earnings and employment. A 2024 study of STEM OPT found that its expansion increased domestic STEM employment, especially in information technology. A 2026 study found that domestic STEM degree completion rose after OPT expanded.

Individual workers may face greater competition for a particular job while domestic STEM employment and training grow across the economy.

08 / Employment value

Asha and Dr. Lin bring different skills to different labor markets.

Asha's software role carries $127,260 in median wages and $184,435 in estimated compensation.

Dr. Lin's postdoc has a $55,000 median salary. Including estimated employer-paid benefits, that is about $79,710 in annual compensation.

10 / If the student pays

The fee arrives after years of educational expenses.

Among master's entrants, median reported annual tuition was $32,374. Their Form I-20 records listed $57,309 in total financial resources for one academic year, including personal or family funds, school aid, outside support, and expected on-campus earnings.

12 / Fields and occupations

The fee reshapes the talent pool.

Biology and biomedical science show how quickly specialized talent can be lost. A university laboratory may hire a postdoc at a typical salary of $55,000 because that researcher has expertise needed for a particular project. Salary and estimated benefits bring the position's annual compensation to about $79,710.

At $100,000, Dr. Lin's postdoc would not continue under the model. Among biology graduates with compensation estimates, 52.2% would not continue.

13 / Employers

Universities feel the fee differently from industry.

The same fee sits beside an industry salary, a university postdoc, or a public-sector role. At $100,000, 68.8% of university and research jobs with compensation estimates would not continue, compared with 15.6% of industry jobs with estimates.

14 / Organizations

The exposure is concentrated in particular schools and employers.

These rankings count initial OPT entrants at schools and clearly identified employers. The next view examines how frequently individual school programs lead to OPT.

15 / School programs

Some programs send nearly every expected completer into OPT.

The chart compares program size with the share of expected completers who begin OPT within 60 days. It includes each school, degree, and program with at least 50 expected completions.

16 / Other paths

Graduates may seek another route.

J-1 sponsorship, an H-1B petition, further study, departure, and overseas work are all possible. The records cannot show which route a person would take.

17 / The selected fee

The fee changes the talent pool America retains.

At $100,000, 40,302 would continue and 11,078 would not continue among jobs with compensation estimates. Among biology graduates in that group, 52.2% would not continue.

18 / The talent America keeps

America has already invested in this talent.

American universities have already welcomed and trained people who can staff laboratories, build companies, develop new technologies, and train the next generation.

American workers deserve protection from underpayment and direct replacement. A large OPT fee would make financial backing the deciding factor, regardless of merit or the importance of the work.

Developing American talent and retaining graduates trained here strengthen the same workforce.