If you want to study in the US from Fall 2027, the H-1B fee for Indian students is confusing right now. Headlines mix up three different fees, and two of them are only proposals. This guide shows what applies today, what is only proposed, and how to plan around it. If you are still choosing a country, start with our country-by-country guide to studying abroad in 2026.
We checked each point against primary sources (the Federal Register, USCIS and each country’s immigration page) on 27 October 2026. The rules are moving fast, so each status below carries a date.
The short version:
- The $100,000 payment does not apply to an F-1 student switching to H-1B inside the US, as long as USCIS grants the change of status. Courts have also blocked it for now.
- A $103,265 employer fee and a $70,000 OPT fee are proposals. Neither is law yet.
- Plan so that your degree still pays off with 12 months of OPT and no H-1B.
1. The $100,000 H-1B fee for Indian students: what’s in force vs. proposed
| Measure | Status on 27 October 2026 | Who pays | Effect on an F-1 student |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 payment | In a presidential proclamation until 21 September 2027, but courts have blocked collection | Employer | Not on a change of status inside the US |
| Weighted H-1B lottery | In force since 27 February 2026 | No fee | Your job’s wage level drives your odds |
| $103,265 H-1B fee | Proposed on 25 August 2026. No final rule | Employer | Could apply to you as written |
| OPT fees, $70,000 and $30,000 | Proposed on 8 October 2026. Comments close 9 November | School, which may pass it on | Could reach your tuition bill |
The $100,000 payment: law on paper, blocked in practice
The payment comes from Proclamation 10973, signed on 19 September 2025, and Proclamation 11069 extended it to 21 September 2027. Employers must make it for certain H-1B petitions. Since 24 July 2026, courts have stopped the agencies from collecting it.
A Massachusetts court vacated the collection guidance on 8 June, but that order was briefly paused while the government appealed, and the First Circuit refused to extend the pause on 24 July. USCIS says it will comply with the Massachusetts order for now and still plans to collect if it is lifted (see its H-1B page). A California court issued a similar order on 30 September in Global Nurse Force v. Trump, according to law-firm reports, and the government has appealed. So the payment is blocked today, not dead. Not every court agrees: a federal court in Washington, D.C. upheld the proclamation in December 2025 in a separate case, and the challengers appealed (per news reports).
The $103,265 fee: proposed, not law
A cap-subject H-1B petition is one that counts against the yearly limit: 65,000 visas, plus 20,000 more for people with a US master’s or higher degree. On 25 August 2026 DHS proposed a $103,265 fee on every such petition, paid by the employer on top of all other fees (Federal Register). DHS says a petitioner subject to both this fee and the $100,000 payment would pay both.
DHS reaches the figure by dividing about $8.78 billion of costs it wants to recover by an estimated 85,000 filings. Comments closed on 24 September. There is no final rule and no start date.
The weighted lottery: already in force
Since 27 February 2026, H-1B selection is weighted by the wage level of the job offered. A level IV offer gets four entries in the pool, level III three, level II two and level I one. DHS projected the chance of selection at over 61% for level IV and over 45% for level III, against just under 30% in the old random lottery.
The first season under the rule was FY 2027. The administration’s September 2026 proclamation reports that US master’s holders made up 66.1% of registrations, up from 45.1%, and that the lowest wage level made up only 17.8% of selections. These are government figures, not independent data, but they point one way: the offered salary now drives your odds.
2. Who is exempt: F-1 change of status explained
Do F-1 students have to pay the $100,000 H-1B fee?
No. USCIS says the $100,000 payment applies to H-1B petitions for people who are outside the United States and do not hold a valid H-1B visa. A petition asking for a change of status, amendment or extension of stay for someone already inside the US is not covered when that request is granted. An F-1 student moving to H-1B is a change of status, so it falls on the exempt side. USCIS does not name F-1 on that page, but the F-1 to H-1B switch is the standard example.
In practice: you finish your degree, work on OPT, and your employer files the H-1B while you are still in the US. That petition asks USCIS to change your status from F-1 to H-1B, and it is the exempt route.
Where the exemption stops
- The change of status is denied. USCIS says the payment then applies.
- The petition asks for consular notification. Petitions requesting consular notification, port-of-entry notification or pre-flight inspection are covered, even for someone in the US.
- The petition is filed while you are abroad. If you go home and an employer files from there, you are the outside-the-US beneficiary the proclamation targets.
- Waivers. DHS can exempt a person, company or industry case by case if it finds the hiring is in the national interest.
So the exemption protects you only if your employer files while you are in the US and in valid status, and asks for a change of status. Put that question to the employer’s immigration lawyer.
The catch: the proposed $103,265 fee has no such carve-out
The exemption belongs to the proclamation. The proposed fee works differently: it attaches to the type of petition, cap-subject, and does not ask where the worker is. We read the proposal’s full text for a change-of-status exception and found none. It does leave out cap-exempt petitions, since many cap-exempt workers are employed by nonprofit research bodies, government research bodies and educational institutions.
If it is finalised as written, an F-1 graduate changing status to a cap-subject H-1B would be in scope, and the employer would pay. DHS can change the text before a final rule, so treat this as a risk to watch, not a certainty.
3. The OPT fee proposal: current status
OPT (Optional Practical Training) lets F-1 graduates work in the US for 12 months, with a 24-month extension for eligible STEM degrees. On 8 October 2026 DHS proposed charging for it (Federal Register). Today’s OPT rules still apply. The proposal says:
- $70,000 for a student’s first OPT recommendation, pre-completion or post-completion.
- $30,000 for each later recommendation, including a STEM OPT extension.
- The school pays before the school official enters the recommendation, and USCIS would not grant work authorisation until it is paid.
- Schools may pass it on to F-1 students, to all students, or to employers. DHS says so plainly.
- Timing: comments close on 9 November 2026, and the rule would start 60 days after a final rule is published.
| Your OPT route | Total fee under the proposal |
|---|---|
| Post-completion OPT only | $70,000 |
| Pre-completion OPT, then post-completion OPT (DHS’s own example) | $70,000 + $30,000 = $100,000 |
| Post-completion OPT, then a STEM OPT extension | $70,000 + $30,000 = $100,000 |
Students already on OPT would not be charged for that period. A later request made on or after the effective date, such as a STEM extension, would be. DHS says the aim is to combat fraud and to stop OPT being used to get around H-1B caps and fees.
Our estimate is that a typical Fall 2027 starter would ask for post-completion OPT in 2028 or 2029, and pre-completion OPT could come earlier. So if the rule is finalised, plan as if it applies to you. If that changes your US maths, our Germany vs Canada vs Australia comparison sets work rights in other countries side by side.
4. What it means for your US ROI (worked example)
Here is where each rule meets your journey, so you can see which ones could reach your wallet.
| Stage | What applies | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Studying (from Fall 2027) | No fee applies unless you use pre-completion OPT | Proposed (pre-completion OPT only) |
| Starting OPT | The $70,000 OPT fee, charged to your school | Proposed |
| H-1B registration (usually March) | Wage-weighted lottery | In force |
| Employer files your H-1B | The $100,000 payment (exempt for a change of status) and the $103,265 fee, both charged to the employer | Payment blocked, fee proposed |
Only the OPT fee could land on your budget, and only if your school passes it on. To see how much that could hurt, here is a stress test using the loan table from our guide on whether a foreign degree is worth it. A ₹50 lakh loan at 10% over 10 years has an EMI of ₹66,075 and costs ₹79.3 lakh in total.
Now suppose the school passed on the $70,000 fee in full and you borrowed it too. At an illustrative ₹90 per US dollar (use the day’s rate), that is ₹63 lakh. The loan becomes ₹113 lakh, the EMI ₹1,49,330 and the total repaid ₹179.2 lakh.
| Years to recover the total repaid, at extra take-home pay of | ₹8 lakh a year | ₹12 lakh a year | ₹16 lakh a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹50 lakh loan (no fee passed on) | 9.9 years | 6.6 years | 5.0 years |
| ₹113 lakh loan (₹50 lakh + $70,000 fee) | 22.4 years | 14.9 years | 11.2 years |
This is a worst case, not a forecast, because the proposal does not say how schools will recover the money. But it shows why OPT years matter. Payback improves sharply when you can spend a few years on a US salary, and the fee targets exactly those years.
Before you trust any plan, add the costs families forget, such as forex markup and TCS, which we cover in the hidden costs of studying abroad. And if you are counting on an H-1B, ask the employer which wage level the role would be registered at, because that now drives your lottery odds.
5. Decision guide: apply to the US for Fall 2027 or not?
These proposals could change, so choose a plan that survives either outcome. Work through these questions in order.
- Is the US programme the reason you are going? For a specific lab, a funded place or a course you cannot get elsewhere, keep the US on your list. The fees matter less when the degree itself is the goal.
- Does your loan plan rely on three years of US work? That means 12 months of OPT plus a 24-month STEM extension. Rerun the numbers with 12 months only, then with the OPT fee passed on. If it only works in the best case, shrink the loan or the list.
- Does your plan depend on an H-1B? Treat it as an upside, not the plan. Selection is weighted by wage level, and the $103,265 proposal has no change-of-status carve-out as published.
- Will you return to India after the degree? Then stay-back fees matter less, and tuition, loan size and salary premium matter more.
- Can you build a fallback? Pick one or two options from section 6 and apply there too.
What to watch before you commit
- 9 November 2026: OPT fee comments close.
- The $103,265 fee: any final rule. There is no date.
- The appeals: the First Circuit case and the Ninth Circuit appeal in Global Nurse Force v. Trump.
- 21 September 2027: the proclamation’s end date unless extended again, just after your Fall 2027 start.
6. Alternatives: Germany, Ireland, Canada, UK
None of these replaces the H-1B. They are different routes with their own rules. The figures below come from each country’s official immigration page, named in the table.
| Country | Stay-back after your degree | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| US (for comparison) | 12 months of OPT, plus a 24-month STEM extension for eligible degrees (USCIS) | OPT fees of $70,000 and $30,000 are proposed, not final. |
| UK | Graduate visa: 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months on or after 1 January 2027. 3 years for a doctorate (GOV.UK) | Fee £937, plus a healthcare surcharge usually £1,035 a year. A Fall 2027 starter would apply after the change. |
| Canada | PGWP of up to 3 years for programmes of 2 years or more. A master’s of 8 months or more can also earn 3 years if other conditions are met (IRCC) | Most applicants need language test results. Study permits are capped, see our Canada student visa cap explainer. |
| Germany | Up to 18 months of residence permit to look for work after a degree from a German university (German federal service portal) | Most public master’s courses charge no tuition, but Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students EUR 1,500 a semester (DAAD). |
| Ireland | Stamp 1G: 12 months after a bachelor’s. After a master’s or doctorate, 12 months, renewable for 12 more if you show steps to find graduate-level work (Irish Immigration Service) | Permission is renewed annually, and the overall limit on student-route time is 8 years for level 9 graduates. |
These are time limits, not job guarantees, and they shift too: the UK Graduate visa is being shortened, and Canada caps study permits. If the longest written stay-back is your priority, Canada’s three years and Ireland’s two at master’s level stand out. If cost is, Germany’s tuition-free public courses change the maths. For fees and scholarships country by country, see our 8 best countries to study abroad in 2026.
7. FAQ
Do F-1 students have to pay the $100,000 H-1B fee?
No, not when the H-1B petition asks for a change of status inside the US and USCIS grants it. If USCIS denies the change, the payment applies. Courts have also blocked collection of the payment since July 2026, and a separate $103,265 fee is only proposed.
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee still in effect?
Not in practice. It remains in the presidential proclamation until 21 September 2027, but two federal courts have blocked the agencies from collecting it, and the government is appealing. A third court, in Washington, D.C., upheld the proclamation in December 2025, and that ruling was also appealed. USCIS says it still plans to collect the payment if the Massachusetts order is lifted.
Is there a fee on OPT?
Not yet. DHS proposed on 8 October 2026 a $70,000 fee for a student’s first OPT recommendation and $30,000 for each later one, including STEM OPT extensions. The school would pay and may pass the cost on. Comments close on 9 November 2026.
Should I still apply to US universities for Fall 2027?
It can make sense, if your plan survives a worse case. Applying keeps your options open, and the costly step is accepting an offer and borrowing. Test your loan with 12 months of OPT only and with the proposed OPT fee passed on, and keep one non-US option in the plan.
Does the weighted H-1B lottery favour US master’s graduates?
It favours higher-wage job offers, not degrees as such. Each registration enters the pool one to four times by wage level. A separate 20,000 advanced-degree allocation sits on top of the 65,000 regular cap, and US master’s holders made up 66.1% of FY 2027 registrations, up from 45.1% a year earlier.
The bottom line
For an Indian student planning Fall 2027, the real risk is not a $100,000 bill. It is a stay-back period that gets shorter, costlier or harder to turn into an H-1B. Build the plan so it still works with 12 months of OPT and no H-1B, and treat anything beyond that as a bonus. If you plan to return to India, our foreign degree ROI guide shows how to test whether the degree pays for itself.
How we checked this: we read the proclamations, both DHS proposals, USCIS guidance and each country’s official page, and used only figures we could trace to them. Where we relied on law-firm reports, such as the California court order, we say so. We will update this guide after the 9 November comment deadline. Last checked on 27 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, so ask your university’s international student office or an immigration lawyer about your own case.
