MOROCCO · UNITED STATES · EDUCATION
Key Facts
- —What happened The US Department of Homeland Security proposed on 8 October a US$70,000 fee for a foreign student’s first period of work under Optional Practical Training (OPT), and US$30,000 for any later period.
- —Who pays The school pays before it recommends the student, and work permits would be refused without payment. Schools may pass the cost on to the student, to all students or to employers.
- —The status It is a proposed rule, not law. Public comments close on 9 November 2026, and a final rule would take effect 60 days after publication.
- —The Moroccan stake Morocco had 1,975 students in the United States in 2024/25, up 10.7%, the eighth-largest group from Africa and the second from North Africa after Egypt. Of these, 354 were on OPT.
- —The STEM case A science or engineering graduate who takes 12 months of OPT after graduating plus the 24-month extension could face US$100,000, more than 19 times Morocco’s GDP per person.
- —The US scale A quarter of all international students in the United States, 294,253 people, were on OPT in 2024/25. The government expects to collect about US$12.4 billion a year in fees.
Moroccan students in the United States could be charged US$100,000 or more for the right to work after graduation under a rule the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed on 8 October. The plan would charge US$70,000 for a student’s first period of Optional Practical Training (OPT), the program that lets foreign graduates work in their field, and US$30,000 for any later period, including the 24-month extension for science and technology graduates.
The rule is only a proposal, open to public comment until 9 November, and it would take effect 60 days after any final version is published. It matters for Morocco because the number of its students in America rose 10.7% last year to 1,975, and L’Eco, a Moroccan business daily, wrote on 13 October that families must already redo their sums.
What the Proposal Says
The fee would be paid by the school, not the student, before a designated school official recommends the student for OPT in the federal student tracking system. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that issues work permits, would refuse employment authorization to any student whose school has not paid.
DHS acknowledges that schools may pass the cost on to the student concerned, to all students or to employers. It says the fee would combat fraud, strengthen the integrity of the immigration system and protect US workers, and that it chose an amount comparable to the fees for H-1B skilled-worker visas so that OPT cannot be used to avoid them.
A student who works under OPT both before and after graduation would face two charges totalling US$100,000 for the same 12 months. DHS assumes schools and students will switch instead to a single period after graduation that costs US$70,000.
How Many Moroccans Are Affected
Morocco sent 1,975 students to the United States in the 2024/25 academic year, according to Open Doors, the annual census of international students run by the Institute of International Education. That makes it the eighth-largest source in Africa and the second in North Africa after Egypt, far behind Nigeria with 21,847.
Across all countries, 294,253 international students were on OPT in 2024/25, a quarter of the total and 21.2% more than a year earlier. DHS says 194,554 students on F-1 visas were granted OPT work permits and reported a job in 2024, up from 160,627 in 2023.
L’Eco set out the stakes for an engineering or computer science graduate from Morocco. A 12-month OPT plus the 24-month science extension would cost US$100,000 if the school passes the whole fee on, or about 980,000 dirhams at Tuesday’s rate of 9.80 dirhams per US dollar.
That sum is more than 19 times Morocco’s GDP per person, which the IMF puts at about US$5,100 for 2026. Only students with generous funding or a large company willing to pay could absorb it, the paper argued.
What It Means for US Readers
For American universities, the fee turns every foreign graduate who wants to stay and work into a bill the school must pay or pass on. DHS expects to collect between US$8.4 billion and US$16.5 billion a year in fees, with a central estimate of US$12.4 billion.
For US employers, especially in technology, the plan could raise the cost of hiring foreign graduates straight out of school. By early Wednesday, 1,615 public comments had been filed on the proposal, according to the federal rulemaking record.
For Moroccans and other Africans weighing a US degree, the calculation changes before they even apply. The fee would not change tuition or the student visa itself, but it could put a five-figure price on staying to work after graduation.
Who Is Who
DHS is the federal department in charge of immigration, and its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certifies the schools allowed to enrol foreign students. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the same department, decides on the work permits that OPT students need.
OPT lets students on F-1 visas, the standard US student visa, work in their field for up to 12 months, and science, technology, engineering and math graduates can add 24 months. A designated school official, a university staff member, must recommend each student before the student applies for the permit.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether DHS will keep the amounts, lower them or drop the plan after the comment period, or when a final rule could appear. It is also unclear how many universities would pay the fee themselves rather than pass it on.
The Rio Times found no public comment from the Moroccan government or its embassy in Washington by Wednesday morning. Open Doors counted 354 Moroccans on OPT in 2024/25, but it is not known how many would still be in the program when a final rule takes effect.
What Comes Next
Comments on the proposal close on 9 November 2026, and comments on its paperwork requirements close on 7 December. DHS must consider the comments before it can publish a final rule, which would then take effect 60 days later.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the proposed OPT fee?
It is a US$70,000 charge for a foreign student’s first period of Optional Practical Training and US$30,000 for any later period. The school pays it before recommending the student, but it may pass the cost on.
Is the fee already in force?
No, it is a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on 8 October 2026. Public comments close on 9 November, and a final rule would take effect 60 days after publication.
How many Moroccan students are in the United States?
Open Doors counted 1,975 Moroccan students in the 2024/25 academic year, up 10.7% from the year before. That is the eighth-largest group from Africa.
How much could a Moroccan STEM graduate pay?
US$100,000 if the school passes on both the US$70,000 initial fee and the US$30,000 fee for the 24-month extension. Each further OPT period, such as work before graduation, would add another US$30,000.
Why does the US government want the fee?
DHS says it would combat fraud, strengthen the integrity of the immigration system and protect US workers. It also wants to stop OPT being used to avoid the fees on H-1B skilled-worker visas.
Sources: Federal Register, DHS, Optional Practical Training Fees, proposed rule, 91 FR 64566, 8 October 2026 (Docket ICEB-2026-0100), GovInfo, full text of the proposed rule (PDF), Federal Register document record, comment count, Open Doors 2025, international students by place of origin, Open Doors 2025, international students by academic level (OPT), Open Doors 2025, Morocco fact sheet, IMF, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026, Morocco GDP per capita, L’Eco, Étudiants marocains aux Etats-Unis, 13 October 2026. Exchange rate: Tuesday 13 October 2026 close, 9.8031 dirhams per US dollar. All retrieved 14 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief