Education
Is a US Degree Worth It? 10-Year ROI Calculator
Worth it, or not? Model the money over 10 years — then see the part the money model cannot show you.
- 4 scenarios
- Every assumption editable
- No signup
- $ / ₹
Educational estimate only. Not legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice. Full disclaimer below.
Policy status verified . Salary and cost figures are your inputs, not our estimates.
Before you model anything — two numbers you have probably been told wrong
H-1B $100,000 proclamation payment
Vacated by a federal court on June 8, 2026 and NOT currently collected — the First Circuit declined to reinstate it on July 24, 2026 while the government's appeal proceeds.
Verified · Proclamation 10973 (Federal Register)
OPT $100,000 fee
DISCUSSED/REPORTED ONLY — not formally proposed. No Federal Register proposal establishing a $100,000 OPT fee has been published, no such amount appears in regulation, and nobody is currently being charged.
Verified · DHS Unified Regulatory Agenda
Neither figure is a cost you would personally pay. Both are modelled here only as effects on how willing employers are to sponsor — which is the channel through which they would actually reach you.
Start from a typical programme
Presets are starting points built from typical published figures, not quotes for any specific school. Change every number below to match your actual offer.
Your numbers
The cost side
Your numbers
The earning side
After 10 years
On your assumptions, staying in India comes out ahead over 10 years. That result is driven mostly by the cost of the degree and your sponsorship assumption — move either and the ranking can flip.
Stay and build a US career
Study, then OPT and a STEM extension, then H-1B — weighted at your 60% sponsorship assumption.
$104,136
- Break-even
- Year 8
- Total degree cost
- $146,454
- Loan still owed at horizon
- $20,760
- Study years
- 2
The $100,000 H-1B proclamation payment is not modelled as a cost here because it is not being collected — a federal court vacated it and the First Circuit declined to reinstate it. It also never applied to a student changing status inside the US.
If the proposed OPT fee happened
Not lawA stress test in which the reported OPT fee materialises and employers pull back sharply from hiring new graduates.
$4,812
- Break-even
- Year 10
- Total degree cost
- $146,454
- Loan still owed at horizon
- $20,760
- Study years
- 2
PROPOSED ONLY. No rule has been published and no amount exists in regulation. This scenario models a collapse in sponsorship appetite, not a bill you would pay — under every version of the reporting, the fee would fall on employers.
Return to India after 3 years
Study, work in the US for 3 years, then move back carrying a 30% salary premium.
-$15,291
- Break-even
- Not within the horizon
- Total degree cost
- $146,454
- Loan still owed at horizon
- $20,760
- Study years
- 2
The premium is your editable assumption, not a measured figure. It reflects what employers hiring for global roles pay for US-standard experience.
Never go — build a career in India
The baseline. No tuition, no loan, no relocation, earning and compounding in India from year one.
$119,408
- Break-even
- Year 1
- Total degree cost
- —
- Study years
- —
What the chart cannot show
Career capital: strong
3 years of US work experience turns the degree into a documented track record — the part of this that no visa decision can take back.
- Accredited US degreeRecognised by credential-assessment bodies worldwide and used as the qualifying criterion by unsponsored routes such as the UK's High Potential Individual visa.
- Any US work experienceConverts the degree from a claim about potential into a verifiable track record with callable references.
- Three or more years of US experienceThe point at which experience is deep enough to count as skilled work in points-based immigration systems and to price into a senior hire.
- Five or more years of US experienceEnough of a track record to move markets on your own terms — senior roles, sponsored routes elsewhere, or a return to India at a materially different level.
Nothing in the dollar projection above captures this. A visa expires and can be revoked; the years on your résumé cannot. Even in the scenario where you leave the US, the experience keeps paying out in every hiring market and counts as skilled foreign work experience in points-based systems such as Canada's Express Entry.
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The return that never shows up in the chart
Every ROI calculator on this topic stops at money, and money is the part of this decision that is easiest to model and least durable. A salary is a flow that stops when the job stops. A visa is a permission that can be withdrawn. What survives both is the credential and the record of what you did with it — and that asset does specific, nameable things for you in labour markets and immigration systems that have nothing to do with the US.
The experience outlives the visa
A visa is revocable and time-limited. Work experience on your résumé is neither. Even in the scenario where you leave the US, the years you worked there stay on your record permanently and keep paying out in every subsequent hiring market.
It converts a degree into a track record
A degree says you can learn. Shipped work at a named employer says you can deliver, in English, to US professional norms, with references who can be called. Employers everywhere price that difference — that is why the return on a US degree is so sensitive to whether any US work follows it.
It is the input other immigration systems score
Canada's Express Entry, and points systems modelled on it, award points for skilled foreign work experience. Time spent working in the US is not a detour from settling elsewhere — in several systems it is the thing being counted.
It changes what returning to India is worth
Returning after US work experience is a different transaction from returning straight after graduation. Global capability centres, multinational subsidiaries and Indian firms with US clients pay a premium for people who have worked to US standards and can operate across both time zones.
The compounding is in the second job, not the first
The first US role is usually priced close to market. The premium shows up at the second and third move, when your experience is verifiable and your network is domestic. This is why cutting a US stint short at 12 months captures far less than half the value of a 3-year stint.
Where a US degree plus US experience actually opens doors
These are structural features of other countries' systems, not projections — with the catch stated alongside each, because every one of them has a catch.
United Kingdom
High Potential Individual (HPI) visaAn unsponsored UK work visa — no job offer and no employer needed — for graduates of qualifying global universities who finished within the last five years.
Why US experience matters: The qualifying list is built from global university rankings, and US institutions make up a large share of it. A US degree can be the single qualifying fact that opens an unsponsored route into the UK labour market.
The catch: The eligible-university list is republished each year and you must match the list for the year you graduated. Your qualification has to be verified through Ecctis, and the five-year window is strict.
GOV.UK — High Potential Individual visa: global universities list
Canada
Express Entry — Comprehensive Ranking SystemPoints-ranked permanent residence. Skilled foreign work experience earns points under the skills-transferability block when paired with language scores or Canadian experience.
Why US experience matters: Skilled work experience gained outside Canada is one of the few levers that raises a skills-transferability score, and US employment is straightforward to document — offer letters, pay stubs, W-2s and reference letters map cleanly onto what IRCC asks for.
The catch: The work must be paid, skilled (NOC TEER 0/1/2/3), full-time or the part-time equivalent, and accrued in the last ten years. Your US degree needs an Educational Credential Assessment from an approved body such as WES before it counts.
Multiple
Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)Converts a foreign degree into a recognised local equivalent for immigration and licensing purposes.
Why US experience matters: US regionally accredited degrees are among the most routinely recognised credentials worldwide, which usually makes the assessment a paperwork exercise rather than a risk.
The catch: Accreditation is what carries the weight, not the school's marketing. Verify a programme's regional accreditation before enrolling — this is the specific thing that goes wrong with degree-mill and some Day-1-CPT-marketed programmes.
| US experience | Résumé effect | Mobility effect |
|---|---|---|
| Degree only | A credential and a claim about potential. | Qualifies you for graduate routes that key off the university itself. |
| 1 year | Proof you can operate in a US professional environment, with callable references. | Enough to be credible to employers abroad; usually thin for points systems. |
| 3 years | A track record. You are hired on what you have delivered, not your degree. | Squarely counts as skilled work experience in points-based systems. |
| 5+ years | Senior positioning and a domestic network that keeps generating options. | Maximum skills-transferability weight; a materially different level on return to India. |
Ten things students get told that are not true
The $100,000 H-1B fee makes hiring you impossible.
It is not being collected.
A federal court vacated it on June 8, 2026 and the First Circuit refused to reinstate it on July 24, 2026. It also never applied to students already in the US changing status from F-1 to H-1B.
There is a $100,000 fee on OPT.
There is no such fee.
It was press reporting about an internal discussion, published July 30, 2026. No rule has been proposed, no amount set in regulation, and nobody has been charged.
STEM OPT resets your unemployment clock to 150 days.
150 is a lifetime cap, not a reset.
The 150 days is aggregate across post-completion OPT plus the STEM extension. Use 40 days on initial OPT and you have 110 left, not 150.
The new 1% US remittance tax hits money you send home.
Almost certainly not.
IRC §4475 only taxes transfers funded with cash, money orders or cashier's checks. Bank-account, debit, credit and digital-wallet transfers are exempt.
Nonresident students cannot claim the standard deduction.
Indian students can.
Article 21(2) of the US-India tax treaty lets students from India claim the standard deduction on Form 1040-NR. Almost no other nationality has this.
You are a nonresident for tax as long as you hold an F-1 visa.
Five calendar years, not the length of the visa.
F-1 students are exempt individuals for five calendar years. After that, days count toward the substantial presence test and you may become a resident for tax purposes while still on F-1.
Social Security tax was withheld, so it is gone.
It is refundable.
F-1 students who are nonresidents are exempt from FICA. If 7.65% was withheld in error, you ask the employer first, then file Form 843 with Form 8316.
A year of full-time CPT is harmless.
12 months of full-time CPT eliminates OPT at that degree level.
Reach 12 months of full-time CPT and post-completion OPT is gone for that level of study — a later, higher degree can carry its own OPT. Part-time CPT does not count toward the threshold at all.
A terminated SEVIS record and a revoked visa are the same thing.
They are separate actions by separate agencies.
SEVIS termination is a DHS status action; visa revocation is a State Department action on the stamp. You can have one without the other, and the responses differ.
A SEVIS termination starts unlawful presence immediately.
Generally not — those are two different things.
The 2018 memo that would have done this was vacated nationwide in Guilford College v. Nielsen. For a student admitted for duration of status, unlawful presence generally starts only after USCIS or an immigration judge formally finds a violation. Losing status is still urgent.
The F-1 grace period is 60 days and always has been.
It becomes 30 days under a rule effective September 15, 2026.
DHS's fixed-admission final rule replaces duration of status with a dated I-94 plus 30 days. Students already admitted for D/S generally keep 60 days until they travel and re-enter. The rule is being challenged in court.
Leaving the US pauses your OPT unemployment counter.
It usually keeps running.
Time spent outside the US while unemployed during an approved OPT period generally still counts against the limit, unless you are on employer-authorised leave.
| What people believe | Reality | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The $100,000 H-1B fee makes hiring you impossible. | It is not being collected. | A federal court vacated it on June 8, 2026 and the First Circuit refused to reinstate it on July 24, 2026. It also never applied to students already in the US changing status from F-1 to H-1B. |
| There is a $100,000 fee on OPT. | There is no such fee. | It was press reporting about an internal discussion, published July 30, 2026. No rule has been proposed, no amount set in regulation, and nobody has been charged. |
| STEM OPT resets your unemployment clock to 150 days. | 150 is a lifetime cap, not a reset. | The 150 days is aggregate across post-completion OPT plus the STEM extension. Use 40 days on initial OPT and you have 110 left, not 150. |
| The new 1% US remittance tax hits money you send home. | Almost certainly not. | IRC §4475 only taxes transfers funded with cash, money orders or cashier's checks. Bank-account, debit, credit and digital-wallet transfers are exempt. |
| Nonresident students cannot claim the standard deduction. | Indian students can. | Article 21(2) of the US-India tax treaty lets students from India claim the standard deduction on Form 1040-NR. Almost no other nationality has this. |
| You are a nonresident for tax as long as you hold an F-1 visa. | Five calendar years, not the length of the visa. | F-1 students are exempt individuals for five calendar years. After that, days count toward the substantial presence test and you may become a resident for tax purposes while still on F-1. |
| Social Security tax was withheld, so it is gone. | It is refundable. | F-1 students who are nonresidents are exempt from FICA. If 7.65% was withheld in error, you ask the employer first, then file Form 843 with Form 8316. |
| A year of full-time CPT is harmless. | 12 months of full-time CPT eliminates OPT at that degree level. | Reach 12 months of full-time CPT and post-completion OPT is gone for that level of study — a later, higher degree can carry its own OPT. Part-time CPT does not count toward the threshold at all. |
| A terminated SEVIS record and a revoked visa are the same thing. | They are separate actions by separate agencies. | SEVIS termination is a DHS status action; visa revocation is a State Department action on the stamp. You can have one without the other, and the responses differ. |
| A SEVIS termination starts unlawful presence immediately. | Generally not — those are two different things. | The 2018 memo that would have done this was vacated nationwide in Guilford College v. Nielsen. For a student admitted for duration of status, unlawful presence generally starts only after USCIS or an immigration judge formally finds a violation. Losing status is still urgent. |
| The F-1 grace period is 60 days and always has been. | It becomes 30 days under a rule effective September 15, 2026. | DHS's fixed-admission final rule replaces duration of status with a dated I-94 plus 30 days. Students already admitted for D/S generally keep 60 days until they travel and re-enter. The rule is being challenged in court. |
| Leaving the US pauses your OPT unemployment counter. | It usually keeps running. | Time spent outside the US while unemployed during an approved OPT period generally still counts against the limit, unless you are on employer-authorised leave. |
Where to go next
College cost calculator
Build the cost input this calculator needs.
OPT to H-1B financial planning
The transition this model turns on.
CPT vs OPT
Choices during the degree that change what comes after.
H-1B hub
Lottery odds and the real state of the fee litigation.
Last reviewed:
Frequently asked questions
Is a US master's degree still worth it in 2026?
It depends far more on your own numbers than on the headlines. The two inputs that move the answer most are the total cost including loan interest, and your realistic odds of getting sponsored. A $50,000 programme with strong sponsorship odds and a $110,000 starting salary is a very different proposition from a $180,000 programme with weak odds. The calculator above lets you set both honestly rather than accepting someone else's assumption. What the money model cannot capture is the credential itself, which is why there is a separate career-capital section.
Does the $100,000 H-1B fee mean nobody will hire international students?
No, and the premise is out of date. Vacated by a federal court on June 8, 2026 and NOT currently collected — the First Circuit declined to reinstate it on July 24, 2026 while the government's appeal proceeds. It also never applied to students already in the US changing status from F-1 to H-1B, and where it did apply it fell on the employer rather than the worker. Any calculator or article that adds $100,000 to your personal cost of studying in the US is wrong on both counts.
Is there really a $100,000 fee on OPT?
No. DISCUSSED/REPORTED ONLY — not formally proposed. No Federal Register proposal establishing a $100,000 OPT fee has been published, no such amount appears in regulation, and nobody is currently being charged. It is modelled on this page only as a stress-test scenario — a hypothetical in which employer appetite for hiring new international graduates collapses — and it is labelled as not being law everywhere it appears. Under every version of the reporting the fee would fall on employers, not on students.
How do I estimate my sponsorship probability honestly?
Look at your specific field and target employers rather than national averages. Large technology and consulting firms with established immigration functions sponsor routinely; small firms and startups often will not, and some sectors effectively never do. Ask alumni from your programme what actually happened to them, look at whether your target employers appear in H-1B disclosure data, and be honest about whether your field is one where employers compete for people. If you genuinely do not know, run the calculator at both 30% and 80% and see how much the answer changes — that spread is the real uncertainty you are carrying.
Why does the calculator show me earning in India even when I choose to stay in the US?
Because a sponsorship probability below 100% means some fraction of the outcome space is one where you do not get sponsored — and in that outcome you do not earn nothing, you earn in India. Modelling the unsponsored fraction as zero income would badly overstate the downside. It is the same reason the never-go baseline is modelled with real salary growth rather than being flat.
Does working in the US help even if I eventually leave?
Yes, and this is the part most ROI content ignores entirely. A visa is temporary and revocable; work experience is neither. US work experience is documented, verifiable, and counts as skilled foreign work experience in points-based immigration systems such as Canada's Express Entry. A US degree is also the qualifying criterion for unsponsored routes like the UK's High Potential Individual visa. And returning to India after US experience is a materially different transaction from returning straight after graduation. None of that shows up in a net-worth chart, which is why this page scores it separately.
Why is the exchange rate an input instead of a live rate?
Because a ten-year projection built on today's spot rate is false precision. The rate you should use is a planning assumption you are comfortable with, and you should check how much your conclusion changes when you move it. If your answer flips between ₹80 and ₹95 per dollar, the honest conclusion is that the two paths are close, not that one wins.
What is this calculator not modelling?
Quite a lot, deliberately. It does not model scholarships and assistantships (subtract them from tuition yourself), employer tuition support, green card timelines, spouse income, children, healthcare cost shocks, currency depreciation trends, or the possibility of a downturn in your field. It is a structured way to compare four paths under assumptions you can see and change — not a forecast.
Disclaimer, assumptions & sources
This tool is for general education and planning only. It does not replace advice from a CPA, attorney, financial advisor, USCIS, IRS, State Department, or other official source. Rules, limits, forms, fees, dates, and government processing information may change. Always verify before filing, investing, or making immigration, tax, or financial decisions.
- For educational use only — not legal advice.
- Not tax advice.
- Not financial advice.
- Not immigration advice.
- Numbers, forms, fees, dates, rules, and limits may change at any time.
- Always verify with official sources before acting.
- Consult a CPA, attorney, financial advisor, or the relevant official agency (USCIS, IRS, State Department) when it matters to your situation.
This is an educational model, not financial advice and not a forecast. Every output is a direct consequence of assumptions you control. Two people with the same degree can get opposite answers here, and both can be right.
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