Stories
Trump's 100,000 dollar OPT plan could supercharge India's tech rise
- •The Department of Homeland Security proposed a 70,000 dollar fee for initial OPT and 30,000 dollar for STEM extensions, imposing a 100,000 dollar premium on foreign graduates.
- •The financial barrier disrupts the traditional pipeline of international STEM talent into the United States workforce and impacts university enrollments.
- •American multinational corporations facing high costs are shifting strategies, accelerating the offshoring of critical research and development to India.
- •India's Global Capability Centres are positioned to benefit massively, transforming into primary hubs for frontline innovation and core product development.
- •The policy risks reversing the brain drain, concentrating elite technological talent within India and keeping high-paying engineering jobs in the local economy.
Key Questions Answered
Under the October 2026 regulatory proposal by the Department of Homeland Security, universities must pay a $70,000 fee for each international student participating in initial Optional Practical Training, along with an additional $30,000 levy for STEM extensions.
The staggering $100,000 OPT tax, compounding recent H-1B visa restrictions, acts as a major catalyst for India's Global Capability Centres by accelerating the offshoring of critical research, development, and enterprise innovation directly into cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
The Department of Homeland Security framed the proposed fees as necessary measures to combat systemic fraud, protect domestic workers, end the subsidisation of cheap labour, and strengthen oversight of the visa program.
