OPT Fee vs H-1B Fee: Why Both Get Called “$100,000”
Search interest in “opt fee 100k” spiked for a simple reason: two completely different $100,000-scale immigration costs hit the news within a year, and one of them is literally two fees adding up to $100,000. Here is the clean separation.
Direct answer: They are different rules. The $100,000 H-1B fee is a presidential proclamation (September 2025) on new H-1B petitions, paid by employers. The $70,000/$30,000 OPT charge is a DHS proposed rule (October 8, 2026) designed to be paid by universities — and it gets called “$100,000” because $70,000 + $30,000 = $100,000 for a student using both tiers. Neither is being collected from students today.
Side by side
| OPT charge (proposed) | H-1B fee (in effect) | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal instrument | DHS proposed rule, 91 FR 64566, docket 2026-20660 | Presidential proclamation (Sept 2025), being litigated |
| Amounts | $70,000 initial + $30,000 subsequent | $100,000 per new petition |
| Paid by | SEVP-certified school (DSO recommendation triggers it) | Employer filing a new H-1B petition |
| Applies to | F-1 students engaging in OPT through the school | New H-1B petitions (critics note it reaches the student pipeline indirectly) |
| Status | Not law. Comments close Nov 9, 2026; effective, if finalized, 60 days after final-rule publication | In effect for new petitions; challenge ongoing in the courts |
| What it buys | 12 months post-completion work authorization (+ subsequent period such as STEM) | Up to 6 years of specialty-occupation employment, lottery permitting |
Where the “$100,000 OPT fee” headline comes from
The proposed rule sets two tiers, and a student who takes the full path — initial OPT, then a subsequent authorization period as contemplated by the rule — would represent $70,000 + $30,000 = $100,000 in charges to their school. That arithmetic is why coverage from Forbes to trade press describes “$100,000 in practical training fees,” and why autocomplete fills “opt fee 100k” ahead of “opt fee 70k.” The collision with the H-1B proclamation’s identical number is coincidence, but an expensive one: students searching the figure find H-1B articles, and employers searching it find OPT articles.
The practical takeaway is the same for both confusions: check which rule a headline is about before reacting. If your question is “do I owe anything for OPT right now,” the answer is no — see the fee rule explained and who pays the OPT fee. If your question is whether your employer can still sponsor you, the H-1B proclamation’s $100,000 applies to new petitions and is the employer’s cost decision, not yours to prepay.
How they interact on the student-to-work path
Most F-1 students touch both rules in sequence: OPT (school-side charge, if finalized) funds the first years of U.S. work, then an H-1B (employer-side $100,000 on a new petition) extends it. Stacked, the two rules make the full pathway materially more expensive for the two parties who decide it — the university and the employer — without either invoice ever reaching the student directly. That is also why analysts read the OPT proposal as an H-1B-pipeline policy: pricing OPT shrinks the trial period employers currently use before committing to sponsorship. For alternatives that do not run through either fee, see OPT to green card paths and Day 1 CPT rules.
Frequently asked questions
Is the OPT fee the same as the $100,000 H-1B fee?
No. The $100,000 H-1B fee is a presidential proclamation applied to new H-1B petitions, paid by employers, announced in September 2025. The $70,000/$30,000 OPT charge is a separate DHS proposed rule published October 8, 2026, designed to be paid by universities. They are different legal instruments, different payers, and different forms.
Why do headlines say the OPT fee is $100,000?
Because the two OPT tiers add up: $70,000 for initial OPT plus $30,000 for any subsequent OPT equals $100,000 for a student who uses both (for example, 12-month OPT followed by a STEM extension period, as contemplated by the rule). Outlets like Forbes and Fragomen have described the proposal as "$100,000 in practical training fees," which collides in search with the H-1B $100,000 fee.
Which one affects me as an F-1 student right now?
Neither is being collected from students today. The H-1B $100,000 fee is an employer cost on new petitions you do not file. The OPT charge is not law — comments close November 9, 2026, and even a fastest-track final rule could not take effect before 2027. Your current OPT application cost is the I-765 fee: $520 paper / $470 online.
Do the two fees stack if I go from OPT to H-1B?
They are independent costs at different stages, paid by different parties: your school would owe the OPT charge (if the rule is finalized) for your OPT authorization, and your employer would owe the $100,000 fee on a new H-1B petition. Nothing merges them into one bill, but together they raise the total price of the student-to-work pathway, which is why employers and analysts treat them as one trend.