How will the OPT fees affect my permanent residency options?

There's no new fee on OPT itself — the base I-765 filing fee hasn't changed. What's new is the $100,000 one-time payment from the September 19, 2025 presidential proclamation on H-1B workers, and right now it isn't even being enforced: a federal court in Massachusetts vacated the USCIS guidance implementing it on June 8, 2026, and the First Circuit denied a stay on July 24, 2026, so USCIS says it's complying with that order while it decides on appeal.
Even when that guidance was in force, USCIS said the payment wasn't triggered by an in-country change of status from F-1/OPT to H-1B—it applied to new H-1B petitions for people abroad who don't already hold a valid H-1B visa (or to an in-country change-of-status petition only if it was later denied or the person left the U.S. before it was decided). So on your facts—studying here, doing OPT, then changing status to H-1B without leaving the country—this fee shouldn't be in your way. That said, the
The underlying proclamation was just extended through September 21, 2027, and the litigation is ongoing, so it's worth rechecking the status when you're actually ready to file.
The real constraints on this pathway were never really about fees: it's the annual H-1B lottery (selection isn't guaranteed, though STEM OPT gives you up to three attempts over 36 months) and then the green card backlog once you're ready to adjust status, which depends heavily on your country of birth. If it would help, I can map out a realistic timeline for your specific situation.