OPT Fee Calculator
The proposal charges $70,000 for initial OPT and $30,000 for subsequent OPT — but the check is designed to come from the school. This tool translates the headline number into the two numbers that actually matter to you: your cost if costs are passed through, and the school-side total if they are not.
Quick answer: fully passed through, the $70,000 initial charge is roughly $17,500 per semester over a typical four-semester master’s. Absorbed by the school, your direct cost stays today’s $520 I-765 fee. Nothing is being collected today — the rule is a proposal, and comments close November 9, 2026.
Student share of the proposed charge: $70,000
Spread over 4 semesters: $17,500 per semester — about 149× the current $470 online I-765 fee.
Today, while the rule is only a proposal, your cost is unchanged: $520 paper / $470 online for the I-765.
How the scenarios differ
The proposed rule bills the SEVP-certified institution, so the base case is a school-side cost. What happens next depends entirely on policy a school has not written yet. A program that treats OPT recommendation as a recruiting advantage might absorb the full charge and market “no OPT surcharge.” A program with hundreds of OPT-bound students could not absorb it without either capping recommendations or passing costs on. A 50/50 split is a middle path some schools may announce early to manage demand.
Set the cohort field to your program’s approximate OPT-bound headcount to see why: 200 students at $70,000 is a $14 million obligation per cohort — money most programs do not have idle. That is why DHS’s own analysis assumes OPT participation declines if schools “are unable to pay or choose not to pay.”
Comparison table: today vs. the proposal
| Scenario | Your direct cost | Per semester (4-sem program) |
|---|---|---|
| Today (no fee — current law) | $520 I-765 (paper) | — |
| Proposal, school absorbs | $520 I-765 (unchanged) | — |
| Proposal, 50/50 split | $35,000 | ~$8,750 |
| Proposal, full pass-through | $70,000 | ~$17,500 |
What you should actually do with these numbers
If you are applying for OPT in the next several months, the calculator’s only relevant output is the first row: your application costs $520/$470 and the proposed fee does not apply to you, because the rule — even if finalized on its fastest track — would only reach DSO recommendations dated after a 60-day post-publication effective date in 2027. If you are choosing a program for 2027 or later, the per-semester scenario is worth asking admissions offices about directly: “If the OPT fee rule is finalized, will your school pass the charge to students?” Their answer — or refusal to answer — will tell you more than any prediction.
For the rule’s mechanics see the fee rule explained and who pays. If your plan is to avoid OPT entirely, read Day 1 CPT rules and OPT to green card paths first — both have trade-offs this calculator does not model.