Optional Practical Training (OPT)
Temporary employment for optional practical training
directly related to the student's major area of study.
Requirements:
You must be enrolled full-time for one
academic year before you are eligible for OPT
- Can be before or after completion of academic program
- You are eligible for 12 months of OPT; Two separate application
need to be submitted to USCIS for each instance of OPT
Cumulative maximum of 12 months per education
level (undergraduate, graduate, etc)
- The 12 months of OPT eligibility can be divided between
pre and post-completion of your academic program
You are ineligible if one year of full time CPT has been
utilized
Your OPT must relate to course of study and be in line with
education level
You must apply for and receive an Employment
Authorization Document (EAD) card from USCIS before beginning
OPT
Application must be filed with the USCIS before the
program completion date
- It usually takes 90 days for your
application to be approved or denied by USCIS
You do not need an offer of employment to apply for
OPT. However, you are only allowed 90 days of unemployment
throughout your post-completion OPT.
- SEVIS with cancel OPT after 90 days of
unemployment from OPT start date
- You must notify the OISS when you have secured employment. You
can either:
-
- Fill out the online update OPT employment
form
- Notify the OISS with an offer letter from employer with the
name and address of employer
Pre-completion OPT: Before completing your
academic program, OPT is limited to 20 hours per week
Post-completion OPT: After completing your
academic program, OPT must be more than 20 hours
per week.
You must make an appointment with OISS to apply for
OPT. You will need to bring ALL of the following:
- Completed OPT Recommendation
Form (to be completed by your advisor or department
head)
- FORM
I-765, completed by student
-
- Item 16 on form
-
- (c)(3)(A) for pre-completion
- (c)(3)(B) for post-completion
- (c)(3)(C) for STEM (17month) extension
- I-765 filing fee, money order $380 made out to 'US Department
of Homeland Security'
- Passport, visa, I-94 card, current I-20 and ALL previous
I-20s
- 2 passport photos
- $6 for FedEx envelope
- Social Security card (if applicable)
- EAD card (if applicable)
STEM (17 month) extensions also need:
- Copy of degree
- Employer's E-verify number and name of the Employer as it
appears in E-verify
Check the status of your OPT application
at: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do
OPT Begins:
The date the employment is scheduled to begin OR
the date the EAD is issued, whichever is LATER (you are unable to
begin your OPT until you have received your EAD card, even if your
chosen start date has arrived)
A student may not begin employment prior to the approved start
date on his or her employment authorization.
A student may not request a start date that is more than 60 days
after the student's program end date.
Employment authorization will begin on the date requested or the
date the employment authorization is approved (the day you receive
your EAD card), whichever is later.
OPT Ends:
After 14 months of completion of study regardless of whether
student has reached 12 month limit or not (unless the student is
eligible for the STEM program)
On transfer release date to another institution
When a change of education level occurs (when previous education
level becomes complete and current becomes active in SEVIS)
STEM PROGRAM
17-month extension of post-completion OPT for students
with a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM)
degree. Consistent with paragraph (f)(11)(i)(C) of this
section, a qualified student may apply for an extension of OPT
while in a valid period of post-completion OPT. The extension will
be for an additional 17 months, for a maximum of 29 months of OPT,
if all of the following requirements are met. (Revised 4/8/08;
73 FR 18944 )
- The student has not previously received a 17-month OPT
extension after earning a STEM degree.
- The degree that was the basis for the student's current period
of OPT is a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in one of the
degree programs on the current STEM Designated Degree Program List,
published on the SEVP Web site at http://www.ice.gov/sevis.
- The student's employer is registered in the E-Verify program,
as evidenced by either a valid E-Verify company identification
number or, if the employer is using a designated agent to perform
the E-Verify queries, a valid E-Verify client company
identification number, and the employer is a participant in good
standing in the E-Verify program, as determined by USCIS.
- The employer agrees to report the termination or departure of
an OPT employee to the DSO at the student's school or through any
other means or process identified by DHS if the termination or
departure is prior to end of the authorized period of OPT. Such
reporting must be made within 48 hours of the event. An employer
shall consider a worker to have departed when the employer knows
the student has left the employment or if the student has not
reported for work for a period of 5 consecutive business days
without the consent of the employer, whichever occurs earlier.
(C) Applications for 17-month OPT extension. A
student meeting the eligibility requirement in paragraph
(f)(10)(ii)(C) of this section may file for a 17-month extension of
employment authorization by filing Form I-765, Application for
Employment Authorization, with the appropriate fee, prior to the
expiration date of the student's current OPT employment
authorization. If a student timely and properly files an
application for a 17-month OPT extension, but the Form I-766,
Employment Authorization Document, currently in the student's
possession, expires prior to the decision on the student's
application for 17-month OPT extension, the student's Form I-766 is
extended automatically pursuant to the terms and conditions
specified in
8 CFR 274a.12(b)(6) (iv) .
STEM Designated Degree
Program List