We are about 5-6 weeks into the fall semester which means in another couple of weeks universities will be conducting post-graduation immigration informational sessions for international students who are graduating in Spring 2026. If you have access to any social media platform, you might have been barraged with videos of panic over the executive order imposing a $100, 000 visa fee for new H1B applications. While companies and immigrant workers are scrambling to decipher what that means for either party, here is what has been reported so far:
- The U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( a component under the DHS) shared a memo on X September 20, 2025 clarifying that the new $100,000 visa fee only applies to ‘new, prospective petitions that have not yet been filed.’
- During the signing of the Executive Order, Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick clarified that the visa fee was an annual rate in addition to the non-immigrant employee salary as an economic deterrent to hiring immigrant workers over American citizens.
- That was later disputed by White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, as a one-time fee that only applies to the petition.
You can refer to the White House website for details of the entire Executive Order but I would like to focus on what this means for you as an international graduate student.
Getting an employer to sponsor a work visa for you just got harder. The are a handful of companies that offer an H1B visa and now they have to financially back new immigrant hires on top of a salary and filing fees. Start-ups and smaller companies may not have the dollar muscle to pay the visa fees. With that in mind, job hunting needs to start early. Quality and quantity will have to work in tandem for increased chances of getting a work sponsored visa. It was already harder to get a job as an immigrant because of that pestilent question in job applications, ‘Will you now or in the future need us to sponsor a work visa or Green Card for you?’. It will take more effort to comb through jobs to find one that will make the additional financial investment.
Something else that caught my attention was during the signing of the executive order Lutnick said, ‘If you are going to train somebody, you are going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop brining people to take our jobs. That’s the policy.’
Training for an immigrant happens under Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT). The former happens during the course of study and the latter allows international students an opportunity to train with American companies for a year for non-STEM international undergraduates and graduate students. STEM students get an additional 2-year extension after the initial 12 months accorded to all international students who graduate from American universities.
Most international graduate student will begin working in America on OPT under the F1 student visa before transitioning into an H1B visa. It is not explicitly stated but can deduced that companies may be less incentivized to take on training international graduate student unless they intend on taking on the financial responsibility of an H1B application in the future.
Another wrinkle to this process is an update from July 25, 2025, that got lost in the hose of information that is unleashed every day. The U.S. department of state shared an update that interviews will generally be required with a few exceptions as stipulated in the statement on their website. In an article by NCB Bay Area, Audrea Golding, a San Jose attorney and a partner at the immigration law practice Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP, interprets this updates as the U.S. requiring future H1B applicants go back to their home country for that interview.
Here is a potential scenario for an international graduate student. They graduate from a STEM program and score a job with a company that is willing to sponsor a work visa. The international graduate student goes through optional practical training for a year followed by a 2-year extension and by the time that is done the company files a petition for an H1B visa on behalf of the international graduate student. As part of the application, an American company pays the filing fees and new visa fees. The student goes back to their country for an in-person interview. Disregarding the post-covid delays that have impacted immigration processes, they get a date in good time and they come back to America to work. Three years in, their H1B is up for a 3-year renewal. Rinse and repeat the initial application process. That is a lot of hoops for both the employer and international graduate student.
The alternative to relentless applications is to seek out employment outside of the United States post-graduation. European countries have pathways for qualified professionals to pursue a career in their field. There is always the option of going back home armed with the academic qualifications and professional training acquired in school. Working in the United States allows for international graduate students and immigrant workers to compete at the global scene so the previous statement is not delivered lightly. Companies are still parsing through the executive order to determine its impact of future H1B applicants. For now, check in with international student office for updates and/or an immigration lawyer.
I have covered stories of female international graduate students in the podcast Academic Asylum. The 6th episode captures in detail post-immigration processes including applying for CPT, OPT, H1B and a Green Card. You can find the podcast here.
Sources
CBP September 20, 2025, statement on X
Karoline Leavitt September 20, 2025, statement on X
Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers
H-1B visa holders will be required to renew in person starting in September
Interview Waiver Update July 25, 2025
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Suspends the Entry of Certain Alien Nonimmigrant Workers
CORRECTED: Current H-1B holders exempt from new fee, White House says | REUTERS
