Who Pays the $70,000 OPT Fee?
The single most confusing part of the 2026 proposal is who the check comes from. Here is the answer from the rule text itself, plus the three ways the cost could still end up on a student’s bill.
Direct answer: Under the proposed rule, the SEVP-certified school pays the $70,000 initial / $30,000 subsequent OPT charge when its DSO recommends the student for OPT. The student pays only the normal I-765 filing fee ($520 paper / $470 online), which is unchanged. But the rule does not stop schools from passing costs into tuition, and it does let schools decline to recommend a student at all — so the practical burden could still reach students indirectly.
What the rule text says about the payer
The proposal is built on the existing OPT sequence: a Designated School Official (DSO) recommends the student for OPT in SEVIS, and the student then files Form I-765 with USCIS, which adjudicates it. The new section (proposed 8 CFR 214.13) attaches the $70,000/$30,000 charge to the school’s side of that sequence — participation in OPT “through a Student and Exchange Visitor Program-certified institution.” The Department’s discussion repeatedly refers to educational institutions as the paying party and analyzes what happens when they “are unable to pay or choose not to pay.”
The rule also gives schools an off-ramp per student: DSOs “are not required to recommend F-1 nonimmigrants for OPT and can elect not to pay the fee for a particular F-1 nonimmigrant who is not a strong candidate for OPT.” That sentence is why the payer question matters even for students who never see an invoice: if paying $70,000 per recommendation becomes optional, schools will set policies about who is worth recommending, and students will choose schools partly on those policies.
The three ways the cost could still reach students
1. Tuition and fee pass-through
DHS’s regulatory analysis explicitly models pass-through. A program with many OPT-bound students could spread the charge across its international cohort: $70,000 across a typical two-year, four-semester master’s is about $17,500 per semester — for comparison, roughly a third to a half of annual tuition at many U.S. programs. Our OPT fee calculator lets you run this math for your own program length.
2. Fewer schools offering OPT support
A school that absorbs the cost is effectively paying $70,000 per graduate who wants to work in the U.S. Some institutions would respond by capping recommendations, prioritizing doctoral students, or exiting OPT recommendation entirely. DHS assumes OPT participation declines if schools cannot pay. The practical effect for students is a smaller, more selective map of OPT-friendly programs.
3. Employer-side deals
The rule creates no employer-payment mechanism, but nothing prevents private arrangements — an employer that desperately wants a specific graduate could fund the school’s charge or sign the student before OPT even starts. Expect this gray market to develop quickly if the rule is finalized, because it is the path of least resistance for employers who today rely on OPT as a low-cost trial period before H-1B.
What students pay today, while the rule is only a proposal
| Payment | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| SEVIS I-901 fee (once, before visa) | $350 | Student |
| Form I-765 (OPT application) | $520 paper / $470 online | Student |
| I-765 for STEM OPT extension (I-983 training plan required) | Same I-765 fee | Student |
| The proposed OPT charge | $70,000 / $30,000 | Nobody — not yet law |
Why the “universities pay” framing spread
Early coverage split between “students to pay $70,000” and “DHS wants universities to pay,” because the rule genuinely charges neither directly: it charges the program, through the school. Both framings are defensible summaries of different consequences — but for a student deciding whether to apply for OPT right now, the operative fact is simpler: the fee is not in effect, your I-765 costs the same as last year, and applying on the current rules is the cheapest OPT you will ever get. See also Is OPT cancelled? and the status tracker.
Frequently asked questions
Do I, the F-1 student, have to pay $70,000 for OPT?
Not under the proposed rule as written. The charge is tied to the school's SEVP recommendation for OPT and is designed to be paid by the SEVP-certified institution. You would continue to pay only the standard Form I-765 filing fee ($520 paper / $470 online) and, before that, the $350 SEVIS I-901 fee you already pay as a new student.
Can my university pass the $70,000 fee on to me through tuition?
The rule does not prohibit it, and DHS's own analysis discusses cost pass-through. A school that wanted to keep recommending every student for OPT could raise tuition or add fees to cover the charge — spread across a two-year master's program, $70,000 is roughly $17,500 per semester. Whether any school actually does this is a policy choice we will only see after a final rule.
Can my school refuse to recommend me for OPT to avoid paying?
The proposed rule says so explicitly: DSOs are not required to recommend F-1 nonimmigrants for OPT and can elect not to pay the fee for a particular student. Advocates read this as making OPT conditional on school discretion. If the rule is finalized, school policy — not just USCIS adjudication — would become a gate for OPT access.
Can my employer pay the OPT fee for me?
Two different questions have two different answers. Today's I-765 filing fee ($520 paper / $470 online): yes — nothing prohibits an employer from paying or reimbursing it, the application just must be filed by you, and students on r/InternationalStudents report employers covering it routinely, especially ahead of sponsorship. The proposed $70,000/$30,000 charge: the rule routes payment through the school, with no employer mechanism — an employer could informally fund a school's cost, but nothing in the rule creates or regulates that path.