Columbia University OPT Fee Information
Columbia University (in New York City) charges an Administration Fee through its International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) for post-completion OPT and STEM OPT, on top of the USCIS filing fee. Its $650 STEM OPT fee is the highest in the US University OPT Fee List.
ISSO post-completion OPT page | ISSO STEM OPT page
Fee Details
| Application | Fee name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Post-completion OPT | OPT Administration Fee | $340 |
| STEM OPT extension | STEM OPT Administration Fee | $650 |
| Pre-completion OPT | — | The page mentions only the USCIS filing fee |
From the post-completion OPT page:
Pay the $340 Administration Fee. After payment, you will receive an email from Cybersource with your OPT Administration Fee receipt.
From the STEM OPT page:
Pay the $650 STEM OPT Administration Fee. You remain in F-1 status under Columbia's sponsorship with an active SEVIS record during your authorized period of 24 months of a STEM OPT extension.
When the Fee Is Charged
In the application steps ISSO lists, payment comes before you submit the request: determine your OPT timeline, choose a start date, pay the fee to ISSO, gather your documents, submit the ISSO application in Compass, and file the I-765 with USCIS after you receive the new OPT I-20. STEM OPT follows the same order: pay first, then prepare the I-983 and other documents and submit in Compass.
Notes
- This fee is paid to the school. It is separate from the USCIS I-765 filing fee, and you pay both.
- The website doesn't say whether the fee is refundable.
- Columbia's ISSO website blocks automated access. The content above comes from Internet Archive captures of the official pages: the post-completion OPT page captured in December 2025 and the STEM OPT page captured in June 2026. Check the ISSO website before you apply.