ISSS Fees

Student Fees

ISSS Support Services Fees

The ISSS Support Services Fee is $125 per semester for all non-immigrant international students enrolled at the university, regardless of how many hours they are taking. The fee is mandatory and included in the tuition bill.

This fee covers the cost of office staff that handle immigration advising on visa status, employment issues, mandatory immigration compliance and reporting, help with federal tax filing assistance, financial aid advising, personal counseling and advising, orientation programming and ongoing educational, cultural, and social programming, just to name a few.

Students exempted from the fee include:

  • permanent residents (permanent residency card required);
  • undocumented students

Any student whose status officially changes to one of the exempt classifications is required to submit proof of that change to ISSS and the fee will not be assessed in subsequent semesters.

Health Insurance Fee

International students in F-1 and J-1 status are required to have health insurance and are automatically billed, through the tuition bill, the cost of the student health insurance policy each semester. Health insurance fees can be found on the health insurance page along with the options for showing proof of alternate coverage.

A Health Insurance Administrative Fee of five percent is added to the cost of the Student Health Insurance Plan premium. This fee allows ISSS to offer an insurance advisor to assist with enrollment in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), compliance oversight, emergency assistance, and advising on SHIP; technology to support academic departments, monitor insurance coverage, and report enrollment to SHIP provider.

Optional Practical Training Administrative Fee

The Optional Practical Training Administrative Fee is:

  • $150 for post-completion OPT
  • $300 for the OPT STEM extension

Department Fees

Faculty & Scholar Services Fee

The Faculty & Scholar Services Fee is an administrative fee charged by Texas Global for the immigration services provided to bring international faculty, researchers and employees to The University of Texas at Austin.

The fee structure is as follows:

  • J-1 Exchange Visitor (DS-2019) [excludes Student Interns]: $400
  • J-1 Student Interns (DS-2019): $700
  • H-1B Initial Petition [including H-1B Transfers]: $2000
  • H-1B Extension Petition: $1500
  • E-3 Initial Petition [filed with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services]: $1200
  • E-3 Extension Petition: $1000
  • E-3 [Consular Processing]: $750
  • TN Petition [filed with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services]: $600
  • TN Extension Petition [filed with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services]: $500
  • TN [Consular or Border Processing]: $150
  • O-1 Initial Petition: $3500
  • O-1 Extension Petition: $1500
  • Permanent Residency Petition [PERM Special Handling]: $5000
  • Permanent Residency Petition [PERM Basic]: $7000
  • Permanent Residency Petition [OP/R]: $5500

These fees are non-refundable.

Note: All services include domestic and international express-mail fees.

Can the department require the foreign national to pay the Faculty & Scholar Services Fee?

Texas Global will only accept payment directly from a UT department via IDT.

  • H-1B Employees and other employment-based visa statuses: In accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services regulations, it is prohibited to pass immigration and administrative fees on to the employee, as doing so may endanger the validity of that status.
  • J-1 Exchange Visitors: The fees for J-1 Student Interns may be paid by the department (via IDT) or the individual (via TXShop). Departments must pay the Faculty & Scholar Services Fee for all other J-1 categories, but there is no restriction on requesting reimbursement from the J-1 Exchange Visitor. Departments that plan to seek reimbursement must inform the J-1 Exchange Visitor in advance that this will be an incurred expense.

What is the procedure for departments to pay this fee?

An IDT account number is collected by Texas Global upon initiation of the request for immigration services, and the department is charged via IDT according to the above fee structure. These fees are non-refundable.