Optional Practical Training (OPT)
Optional Practical Training allows you to accept up to one year of employment directly related to your academic major. Many students like to use twelve consecutive months of Optional Practical Training (OPT) after they complete their studies, although you can use some OPT before completion. While practical training restricts the kind of work you do, it does not restrict you to a particular job or location. You can go anywhere in the country. Understanding OPT can be important as you make plans for summer activities and for the end of your studies. Plan ahead!
Who is eligible for OPT?
Students who have been enrolled full time for one academic year (generally nine months) in F-1 status and who are maintaining status at the time of application are eligible to apply for OPT.
Students in English language training programs are not eligible for practical training.
You Can Use OPT:
- during your annual vacation period, if you intend to register for the next term.
- while school is in session, if you work twenty or fewer hours/week (part time).
- after completion of course requirements for your degree, even if you still have to finish a required thesis, dissertation, project, recital, or portfolio.
- after you complete all degree requirements. The regulations allow only twelve months total of full-time OPT (anything over 20 hours/week). These months can be split: any full-time authorization used before you finish your degree will be subtracted from available months after completion. Part-time OPT authorization before you finish studies is subtracted at one-half the rate. For example, if you work part time during a summer for four months, you would have ten months of full-time OPT still available. You get twelve months per education level (undergraduate, master, or doctorate).
If requesting post-completion practical training, you MUST APPLY BEFORE THE COMPLETION OF YOUR PROGRAM. Apply early. Many students get post-completion OPT before they have job offers. You continue in F-1 visa status during practical training, even if you are not working.
NOTE: The date when you complete your studies, not when you graduate, is most important. The graduation ceremony has no significance for your practical training application. USCIS will not authorize any OPT more than fourteen months after your completion date.
Results
You will receive a "Notice of Action" receipt fromUSCIS approximately two weeks after you apply. This receipt will list your application receipt number (LIN#) and a USCIS phone number you can use to follow up on your application status. Once you receive your Notice of Action form, you may leave the United States and re-enter before you get your EAD card. However,once you have received your EAD (Employment Authorization Document), YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RE-ENTER THE COUNTRY WITHOUT A LETTER OF EMPLOYMENT OR JOB OFFER. If you leave the U.S. after graduation but before you get your Notice of Action or after you get your EAD card with no letter of employment, you may not be allowed back into the U.S. to complete your practical training. This is especially important for Canadian students who travel home frequently.
Expect to receive the EAD card (see below) at least 90 days from the receipt date listed on the "Notice of Action."
NOTE: The address you put on the application should be valid for the next 3-4 months. If it is not going to be valid, talk to an International Student Adviser before you mail the OPT application.
The Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a small card laminated in plastic, and looks like a U.S. driver's license. You may not start work until you receive it, and you must stop working by the expiration date indicated. However, you are allowed sixty more days in the U.S. in F-1 status after that expiration date.
Important Points to Remember
Travel Issues: Once you have graduated, you may not leave the U.S. after applying for OPT and still retain the OPT until after you receive your I-765 receipt notice (Notice of Action: Form I-797). Otherwise the OPT will be lost and you will not be re-admitted to the U.S. in F-1 status.
After receiving the EAD card, you may travel outside the U.S. if you already have a job or job offer, but you will need to bring the following documents with you when you re-enter:
__ Current EAD card
__ I-20 signed by an International Student Advisor within the last six months
__ valid passport and visa
__ letter from an employer stating that you have begun work or that you have been offered a jobby the organization
Application Procedure
- Go to the Registrar's Office and make sure that you have applied for graduation (if it is post-completion practical training) and that your records reflect your correct major. Check with your academic advisor to be sure you know the exact date when you will finish your degree requirements.
- Go to the ISP Office and pick up the OPT Application Packet. Make a follow up appointment with Kristin Webster.
- Complete the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) form included in the application packet Form I-765).On the Application for Employment Authorization, complete Items #1-16 and sign. Leave items blank if you have questions about them. Kristin Webster can assist you with these questions.
- Go to Kinko's on Hamilton or Costco (cheapest photos) and have photos made according to the instructions in the application packet. (Views must be exactly according to the instructions.)
- Bring the items in 3 and 4 above, your passport, I-94 card, and your Form I-20. The advisor will review your written materials, issue you a new I-20 showing your application for OPTand mail your application to the following address:
INS Service Center
Attn: EAD for OPT
P.O. Box 87765
Lincoln, NE 68501-7765
Be sure the following are included. Do not staple the following items together!!
___ Orignal Form I-765
___ Photocopy of your Form I-20 (pages 1 and 3), endorsed by an International Student Advisor (DO NOT MAIL THE ORIGINAL SIGNED I-20).
___ Two photos of you prepared according to USCIS specifications. Lightly print your name in pencil on the back and put them in a small, sealed plastic bag (like a sandwich bag).
___ From your passport, photocopies of the identity page, F-1 visa, and Form I-94 (both sides).
___ Check or money order payable to USCIS for the fee (DO NOT SEND CASH).
___ Originals of any previous EADs (for example from past OPT, Economic Hardship or Off-Campus Special Student Relief). - Review your application for completeness. Incomplete applications will be returned, delaying the receipt of your EAD.
- Photocopies of all materials you send to USCIS will be made by the ISP Office. These copies provide you with a record of your transactions with USCIS.