Verified against official sources — 31 Oct 2026

OPT and STEM OPT: Eligibility, Filing Windows, Unemployment Days and Reporting

NEW Published 31 October 2026

Who qualifies, when to file Form I-765, how the 90- and 150-day unemployment limits work, and what you must report.

SECTION 01What OPT Is: One Allowance, Three Forms

RULE — OPT is work permission for training related to your field of study — Study in the States' definition — and USCIS's Policy Manual grounds all practical training as employment directly related to a student's major. Study in the States lists three general types:

RULE — The DSO recommends; USCIS decides; the EAD authorises. While a DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS, the student must apply for the work permit with USCIS; if approved, USCIS issues an EAD, and the student must not begin working before the start date on it. (The third type Study in the States lists, the cap-gap extension, serves students with a qualifying H-1B petition and belongs to the H-1B process.)

SECTION 02Eligibility for Regular OPT

Study in the States lists who is eligible:

• RULE — One academic year of full-time study at an SEVP-certified college, university, conservatory or seminary (the Policy Manual's baseline for practical training).
• RULE — Not studying English as a Second Language — English language training students are ineligible.
• RULE — The proposed employment relates to the major area of study.
• RULE — OPT remains available at the current level — not all of it already used.
• RULE — Less than 12 months of full-time CPT — the rule the companion CPT guide works through, including how CPT at a previous school at the same level counts.

ADVICE — Check the CPT total early: it is the one test that can already have been failed a year earlier. Confirm your full-time CPT total with your DSO at the start of your final year.

SECTION 03Pre-Completion OPT: Training Before You Finish

RULE — Twenty hours a week while school is in session. USCIS's Policy Manual: pre-completion OPT can be completed while school is in session provided it does not exceed 20 hours a week; during annual vacation and other times when school is not in session, it can exceed 20 hours per week if the student is currently enrolled, eligible for registration, and intends to register for the next term.

RULE — You can file before the academic year completes, but cannot start before it does. A student may submit Form I-765 up to 90 days prior to being enrolled for one full academic year, provided employment will not begin until after that year completes, as indicated by the DSO. An EAD is needed for each period of pre-completion OPT, and work begins no earlier than the date on it.

RULE — Pre-completion OPT spends the same 12 months. It is incremental and cumulative, up to 12 months, must take place before the programme end date, and any time used impacts the post-completion OPT USCIS may authorise. Part-time use is deducted at half rate (one year part-time reduces remaining full-time OPT by six months); usage is calculated on the period authorised — overtime and unemployment periods are not considered.

SECTION 04Post-Completion OPT: Dates, Hours and the Grace Period

RULE — Your start date sits within 60 days of your programme end date. Study in the States: a post-completion start date must be on or after the programme end date, not more than 60 days after it, and the end date not more than 12 months after the start. USCIS's Policy Manual adds that all practical training must complete within 14 months of completion of study, and OPT begins on the date USCIS adjudicates or the date the DSO requested, whichever is later.

RULE — At least 20 hours per week — including qualifying volunteer work. Post-completion OPT is work of at least 20 hours per week or full-time. The Policy Manual adds that a student may work as a volunteer or unpaid intern, as long as this does not violate any labor laws and the employment is related to the program of study — at the same 20-hour minimum. Unpaid does not mean unreported: Section 09 still applies.

RULE — Sixty days of grace follow your OPT. A student who has completed an authorised OPT period may remain in F-1 status for 60 days beyond the EAD expiration date — in which, per the Policy Manual, the student may change education level, transfer schools, or file to change status; otherwise the student and any dependents must depart by the end of the grace period. Study in the States states the same 60-day grace.

RULE — OPT ends automatically on certain events: transfer to another school; a new degree level at the same school; a change to another status such as H-1B; failure to maintain F-1 status; or a school closure.

SECTION 05Filing Form I-765: The Windows That Decide Everything

Post-completion OPT's window is built from three numbers in USCIS's Policy Manual: apply no earlier than 90 days before the programme end date and no later than 60 days after it — a 150-day window — and, within it, file no more than 30 days after the DSO enters the recommendation into SEVIS. Study in the States adds the consequence of filing before the recommendation or after day 30: denial, a lost fee, and reapplying and paying again.

RULE — The fee is whatever the current Fee Schedule says; a wrong fee means rejection. This guide prints no I-765 figure. USCIS publishes fees in its Fee Schedule, Form G-1055, stating there that an incorrect fee means the application will be rejected — and the schedule is re-issued in new editions (the current one is dated 10/16/26), which is why printed figures go stale. Read your category's fee from the current schedule on uscis.gov when you file.

ADVICE — Work backwards from the programme end date, starting the DSO conversation in your final term's opening weeks.

SECTION 06Unemployment Days: 90, Then 150

RULE — At most 90 days of unemployment on post-completion OPT — the Policy Manual's flat limit, carried in USCIS's STEM OPT unemployment table as: initial post-completion OPT only, up to 90 days, total 90 days.

RULE — With the STEM extension, 150 days in total — combined, not additional. The table's extension row: an additional 60 days, total 150 days. The Policy Manual confirms the combined reading — the total OPT period, post-completion plus extension — so days used before the extension count inside the 150 and the clock does not restart. Cap-gap unemployment also counts toward the maximum.

ADVICE — Track your own days; the system tracks them too. Study in the States describes a SEVIS alert list showing days of unemployment allowed, used and remaining — and notes employer dates outside the actual OPT dates make a student appear unemployed. Report changes promptly.

SECTION 07STEM OPT: Who Qualifies for the 24-Month Extension

RULE — You must be in a valid period of post-completion OPT, with a qualifying degree. USCIS's STEM OPT page lists the core tests: granted OPT and currently in a valid post-completion OPT period; a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree from a school accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency and SEVP-certified when you submit the application; and an employer meeting Section 08's requirements. The Policy Manual adds the field test — the degree's CIP code must appear on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List — and that the extension can be granted only once per qualifying degree.

RULE — A previously obtained STEM degree can be the basis. USCIS: a student on OPT based on a non-STEM degree may use a previous STEM degree, provided both degrees are from currently accredited, SEVP-certified institutions, no extension has already been based on it, and the training is directly related to it. The Policy Manual adds: the prior degree must be on the DHS STEM list at the time of the DSO recommendation and conferred within the 10 years preceding it — a point Study in the States' first-extension checklist also carries.

RULE — A future STEM degree can support one additional extension at a higher educational level (USCIS's example: bachelor's-based, then master's-based). The Policy Manual states the lifetime shape: two lifetime STEM OPT extensions.

RULE — At least 20 hours per week per employer, under a Form I-983 training plan. The Policy Manual requires employment of no less than 20 hours per week by each qualifying employer, and completing Form I-983 — the individualized plan identifying goals, how they will be achieved, evaluation, and oversight and supervision, and explaining how the training relates directly to the STEM degree. Study in the States adds: a completed Form I-983 goes to the DSO before the DSO can recommend the extension, and a new one is required for every new training experience during it.

SECTION 08STEM OPT: Filing, the 180-Day Bridge, and Employer Duties

RULE — File up to 90 days before your OPT expires, and within 60 days of the DSO recommendation. USCIS states both halves directly. Study in the States adds that USCIS must receive it within that 60 days and no later than the post-completion OPT end date — with the same warning: file early or late and USCIS denies it, the fee is lost, and you reapply and pay again. The application, per USCIS: a properly filed Form I-765 with the correct fee, your employer's name as listed in E-Verify and its E-Verify Company Identification Number (or valid client company ID); a Form I-20 endorsed by your DSO within the last 60 days; and a copy of your STEM degree.

RULE — A timely filing bridges up to 180 days. USCIS: if you file on time and your OPT expires while the extension is pending, employment authorization is automatically extended for 180 days, ceasing once USCIS adjudicates it. The Policy Manual limits it to USCIS's written decision or 180 days after the post-completion OPT expires, whichever is earlier. If approved, the extension begins the day after the initial OPT expires — not on the adjudication date — and runs a fixed, uninterrupted 24 consecutive months.

RULE — The employer must be an E-Verify employer with a real training relationship. USCIS requires: E-Verify enrollment and good standing; a valid IRS-issued Employer Identification Number (EIN); a formal training program; an opportunity commensurate with similarly situated U.S. workers in duties, hours and compensation; and a bona fide employer-employee relationship, attested by signing Form I-983 — signed by the same entity that provides the training. The employer must report material changes via a modified Form I-983 at the earliest available opportunity, and report a student's termination or departure to the DSO within 5 business days. DHS may conduct a site visit.

SECTION 09Reporting: The Duties That Run Throughout OPT

RULE — On OPT, report changes to your DSO within 10 days — name, address and employment information, per Study in the States; the DSO then updates SEVIS within 21 days. The Policy Manual states the underlying duty: report any change of name or address, or interruption of employment, for the duration of the OPT.

RULE — On STEM OPT, reporting is scheduled as well as event-driven. USCIS requires changes in legal name, residential or mailing address, email address, employer's name and address to reach the DSO within 10 days — plus a report every 6 months confirming the information, even if nothing changed. Study in the States itemises it: validation reports at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after the extension starts; self-evaluations at the 12- and 24-month marks and at the end of any employment, submitted within 10 days, signed by the student and confirmed and signed by the employing supervisor.

RULE — A new employer or material change means a new or modified Form I-983. The Policy Manual: submit a Form I-983 to the DSO within 10 days of beginning a new opportunity with a new employer (and obtain a new DSO recommendation); sign a modified Form I-983 for material changes; and ensure the DSO receives the 12-month and final evaluations no later than 10 days after the period or opportunity ends. Missed reporting is not a technicality — Study in the States maintains a SEVIS alert for students requiring STEM OPT reporting, and names termination for "Failure to Report While on OPT" as the consequence where validation does not happen.

ADVICE — Put the dates in a calendar on day one.

FAQFrequently Asked Questions

Official references and verification status

These official references were accessed and checked on 31 October 2026, and this guide's RULE items were verified claim-by-claim against them (record in the accompanying .sources.md file). One deliberate omission: the Form I-765 filing fee. USCIS's Fee Schedule page (Form G-1055) was read for this check — it confirms fees are published there, the current edition is dated 10/16/26, and an incorrect fee leads to rejection — but the schedule's fee table for the F-1 (c)(3) categories could not be read as text from the official page in this pass, so no fee figure is printed; Section 05 and the FAQ explain where to read the current figure.

• USCIS — STEM OPT Extension
• USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 5: Practical Training
• USCIS — Students and Employment
• USCIS — Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)
• Study in the States (DHS) — SEVIS Help Hub: F-1 OPT
• Study in the States (DHS) — SEVIS Help Hub: F-1 STEM OPT
• Study in the States (DHS) — F-1 Postsecondary guide
• Study in the States (DHS) — SEVP Spotlight, March 2020

General educational information, not individualized legal advice. Consult your DSO or a qualified U.S. immigration attorney for case-specific questions.

General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.