OPT Calculator: F-1 Filing Dates, STEM OPT and Proposed Fee
Short answer. You can file for post completion OPT from 90 days before your programme ends until 60 days after, and it lasts up to 12 months, plus 24 with STEM. In October 2026, DHS proposed a USD 70,000 fee for a first OPT. That fee is not in effect.
Dates follow USCIS and DHS Study in the States guidance, checked in November 2026. They are a planning aid. Your DSO’s recommendation in SEVIS and your own I-20 decide the real dates, and you must file within 30 days of that recommendation. The proposed fee is not law and may change or never take effect.
The OPT dates that matter
Optional Practical Training lets an F-1 student work in a job directly related to their field. Nearly every date comes from one starting point: the programme end date on your I-20.
| Step | The rule |
|---|---|
| File Form I-765 | From 90 days before your programme ends to 60 days after, and within 30 days of your DSO’s recommendation |
| Choose a start date | On or after your programme end date, and no more than 60 days after it |
| Length | Up to 12 months per degree level, less any pre-completion OPT |
| Unemployment | No more than 90 days in total on post completion OPT |
| STEM extension | 24 more months for a qualifying degree with an E-Verify employer. File up to 90 days before OPT ends and within 60 days of your DSO’s recommendation |
| Unemployment with STEM | 150 days in total, including days used on your first 12 months |
The two deadlines people miss are the 30 days after the DSO’s recommendation and the last day USCIS can receive the form. USCIS has to receive your application by then, so posting it on the last day is too late. Ask your international office for the recommendation early and apply soon after the window opens, because you cannot work until your card arrives and its start date has passed.
Your unemployment clock starts on the start date on your card, not the day you find a job. A later start date gives you more time to find work before the clock runs, and your 12 months simply run from that later date.
The proposed fee: USD 70,000 for a first OPT
On 8 October 2026, DHS published a proposed rule that would charge a fee for every OPT recommendation. It is not in effect. Today’s OPT rules and USCIS fees still apply, and DHS says it may revise the rule after public comments, which close on 9 November 2026.
| Under the proposal | Fee per student | Roughly in INR, at ₹95 |
|---|---|---|
| First OPT of any type | USD 70,000 | ₹66.5 lakh |
| Any later OPT, including the STEM extension | USD 30,000 | ₹28.5 lakh |
| 12 months of OPT plus the STEM extension | USD 100,000 | ₹95 lakh |
Your school, not you, would owe the fee, and it would have to pay before your DSO could recommend you. But DHS openly says schools may pass the cost on to students or employers, and that the fee is meant to make schools more selective about whom they recommend. So the real risks are paying it yourself, or a school that declines to recommend you at all.
Timing matters. As proposed, the final rule would take effect 60 days after it is published, and it would apply to recommendations dated on or after that day. If your recommendation is dated earlier, your school pays nothing for that OPT, though a later request, such as a STEM extension, would be charged. Pre-completion OPT would count as your first, so the post completion OPT after it would be the USD 30,000 one: USD 100,000 for those two, before any STEM extension.
Faz's ruleDo not borrow on the assumption that OPT will be there at today's cost.
If you are starting a US master’s in 2027, you will graduate after this rule could take effect, so run your loan numbers on two scenarios: OPT as it is today, and no OPT at all. Before you pay a deposit, email the international office and ask one question: if the fee becomes final, will the university pay it, pass it on, or stop recommending OPT? Keep the answer. If the numbers only work with OPT, that is your real finding.
Our OPT and H-1B guide covers the blocked duration of status rule and the wage weighted H-1B selection, and is studying in the USA worth it runs the payback maths. For the costs before you fly, use the F-1 visa fee calculator, and see the USA student visa guide. If you are comparing countries, the PGWP calculator does the same job for Canada.
Questions people ask
When can I apply for OPT?
For post completion OPT, from 90 days before your programme ends until 60 days after, and within 30 days of your DSO entering the recommendation in SEVIS. USCIS must receive the form within those limits.
Is there a USD 70,000 fee for OPT now?
No. It is a proposed rule published on 8 October 2026, with comments open until 9 November. It would take effect 60 days after a final rule is published. For now, only the normal Form I-765 filing fee applies.
How much does it cost to apply for OPT today?
University international offices list USD 470 online or USD 520 on paper for Form I-765. Optional premium processing is USD 1,780 more. Check the USCIS fee calculator before you pay, because fees change.
How many days can I be unemployed on OPT?
90 days in total on post completion OPT. A STEM extension adds 60, making 150 days in total, including any days you used in the first 12 months.
When should I apply for the STEM OPT extension?
Up to 90 days before your current OPT expires, and within 60 days of your DSO’s recommendation. You cannot apply during the 60 day grace period after your OPT ends, so do not leave it to the last week.
Where these rules come from
- USCIS, Optional Practical Training for F-1 students
- DHS Study in the States, F-1 Optional Practical Training
- DHS Study in the States, STEM OPT extension overview
- Federal Register, Optional Practical Training Fees, proposed rule of 8 October 2026
- DHS Study in the States, proposed OPT fees
- USCIS, fee schedule
- University of Kansas International Support Services, F-1 OPT filing fees and dates
Checked in November 2026. The fee proposal is moving, so check its status with your international student office before you act on it.