He Donald Trump’s administration proposed a drastic increase of the rates associated with the main program that allows foreign students to work temporarily in the United States after completing their studies, a measure that, if it comes into force, could severely limit job opportunities of thousands of international young people, including Colombians.
READ ALSO
The proposal of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) establishes a fee of 70,000 dollars for each foreign student who wants to access the program for the first time Optional Practical Training (OPT) and $30,000 extra for each subsequent authorization, including the extension available for graduates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.
READ ALSO
Although formally Universities would be responsible for paying the new rates, the proposed regulation contemplates that the institutions can recover those resources charging the same student either to your eventual employer.
In any case, the leap would be enormous compared to the current scheme under which students pay around 500 dollars for his employment authorization application.
And it is that pFor a graduate of a STEM career who first uses the regular OPT and later requests its extension, accumulated fees could reach 100,000 dollars. That is, at the current change, would go from paying 1,600,000 Colombian pesos to more than 322 million pesos.
USA? Will the US stop the bridge from the university to the labor market for foreign students?
Collage Immigration Trump ICE Colombians Deported Migrants Photo:AI Crafting Collage
The measure It is not yet valid. This is a regulatory proposal that publiceither officially this Thursday in the Federal Register and will be open to public comments until November 9. Only after that process DHS could issue final regulationwhich could also face lawsuits.
The OPT is one of the main attractions of the American university system for foreign students.
The program allows those who study in ANDAND. USA with F-1 visa to work temporarily in jobs directly related to your career. As a rule, graduates can do it for 12 monthswhile those who obtain degrees in STEM areas can request an additional 24 month extension.
In many cases, furthermore, the OPT It works as a bridge between the university and a work visa like the H-1B, well allows a recent graduate to start working while looking for a company willing to sponsor him to remain in the country.
Its use has grown considerably. According to him Institute of International Education (IIE), 294,253 international students participated in OPT during the 2024-2025 academic year, what it represents a 21 percent increase regard to the previous year.
That means that approximately one in four international students in ANDAND. USA (1.17 million) I was doing practical training in he frame of program.
The scope of the measure for Colombia
Foreign students contribute billions of dollars to the economy and support jobs. Photo:AI generated collage / Stock
The potential impact also reaches Colombia. According to the most recent figures from Open Doors, 10,213 Colombians studied in institutions of American higher education during the period 2024-2025, a record number that ranked the country 18th among the main countryIt is of international student origin.
Although more recent disaggregated figures on Colombians specifically in OPT are not yet available, in the period 2023-2024 there were about 1,756 participating in the programa increase of almost 24 percent compared to the previous year. Then, They represented approximately 17 percent of all Colombian students registerated in the United States.
The administration Trump maintains that change is necessary for combat abuses of the system and protect American workers.
“Optional Practical Training was never intended become a backdoor into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a reward for those who manipulate the system,” said a DHS spokesperson when announcing the proposal.
Alert due to drop in foreign students and brake on the US economy
According to the agency, the new rates would force universities to exercise a greater control and to be more selective when recommending a student to participate in the program. The money raised would be transferred to the United States Treasury.
He Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) reported this year that had identified more than 10,000 cases of possible fraud linked to the OPT, including students who supposedly appeared as employees of non-existent companies or companies that reported hundreds of foreign workers despite having minimal operations.
READ ALSO
But universities and organizations linked to international education They warn that a tariff of such magnitude could carry much broader consequences.
Fanta Aw, Executive Director of NAFSAorganization that represents the sector of the international education, He argued that taking talent away from the country and the aspirations of foreign students would harm innovation, economic growthworkforce development and the country’s global leadership.
The concern also It is explained by the role that these students play in the finances of American universities. Many pay the full cost of their tuition.which has become an important source of income for institutions that allocate part of those resources to finance other programs and aid.
If approved in the proposed terms, The universities would have to pay the 70,000 dollars before its officials could even recommend the student for OPT in the SEVIS immigration system. Without that prior payment, the student could not progress normally in the employment authorization issued by the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
That could force institutions to decide to which of your graduates foreigners would financially support or pass the cost on to students and employers. A measure that could modify the percentage of foreigners who would consider choosing an American university before new Obstacles to gaining work experience.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI – EL TIEMPO Correspondent – Washington – @Sergom68
