Optional Practical Training or OPT allows you to continue in F-1 student status and to be employed after you graduate, as long as you did not complete 12 months of OPT pre-graduation. Here are rules to be aware of:
- You need both your school’s recommendation and approval from USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). First look at your university’s website for detailed information on applying, forms, and workshop dates. Here’s information on our local public college/university sites:
- You don’t need a job offer before you apply for standard OPT. Many students don’t. But it is a requirement for the STEM OPT extension. Beware that during standard post-completion OPT, you may not be unemployed for an aggregate of more than 90 days. There are strict requirements on what constitutes unemployment.
- You must apply to USCIS within 30 days of your DSO (advisor) entering the recommendation for OPT into your SEVIS record, and you may apply up to 90 days before you complete your degree, but no later than 60 days after you complete your degree. These are rigid deadlines; I’ve seen students who didn’t pay attention to the timeframes and ended up unable to work and without funds to continue studies. Thesis/dissertation students are eligible after completing all course requirements except for their thesis or equivalent.
- F-1 students who have received an aggregate of one year or more of full-time curricular practical training (CPT) are ineligible for (OPT) at the same educational level, such as the Bachelor’s Degree level. If you later pursue a higher educational level, i.e. Masters or PhD, you’re eligible for CPT and/or OPT again.
- USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) is (or was) incorrectly aggregating CPT and OPT and determining that a student is only eligible for a combined period of 12 months of CPT and OPT. Such a finding should be challenged; as long as the student has not received 12 months of full-time CPT, s/he is eligible for OPT at the same educational level.
- If you’ve earned a STEM degree, you can apply for an additional 24-month OPT extension during your initial 12-month OPT period. Again, there are strict timeframes and requirements. There’s a detailed list of designated degree programs that qualify as STEM degrees.
- When you apply to USCIS, you’ll be applying for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) commonly known as a work permit. You must wait to receive your EAD before you can start working, even if an employer is ready to hire you. The filing fee as of March 2019 is $410.
- You may be able to travel abroad and return to the U.S. during your OPT. You’re still in F-1 status during OPT. You must have an I-20 endorsed for travel, an EAD, and a valid F-1 visa to re-enter the U.S., unless exempt from the visa requirement. Your student advisor (DSO) can endorse your I-20 for travel after your program’s end date if you have a valid EAD.
