INTEGRITY, KNOWLEDGE & SUCCESS

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Thomas V. Allen

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Student Visa
F-1 Optional Practical Training Status

Students in good standing are entitled to 12 months of optional practical training (OPT) per degree, which may be used before or after graduation in any combination. The job duties must be related to the student’s major field of study, but there is no pre-adjudication by the CIS. Rather, once the student presents the Employment Authorization Card to the employer, he may be placed on payroll and commence employment.

Post-Completion Optional Practical Training Practical training undertaken after graduation is referred to as “post-completion” OPT. Those students in OPT who are seeking to change status to H‑1B may be eligible for an automatic extension of OPT status while the H‑1B petition is pending and until it becomes effective, normally on October 1. Those students in OPT status whose underlying degree is in the field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) may be eligible for an additional period of 17 months of OPT after completing 12 months of post completion

OPT, but only if the employer registers in E-Verify. What if an F-1 student who has a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field is in post completion OPT based on a non-STEM master’s degree? Is he eligible for the 17-month STEM extension of his OPT? For example, suppose one of your F-1 employees was awarded a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering, but is currently employed in OPT status based on his recent receipt of a master’s degree in business administration. Can he qualify for the 17-month STEM extension based on his engineering degree?

The answer is no. Under the regulations, the degree that is the basis for the student’s current period of OPT has to be the STEM degree. Since in this case the student’s OPT was based on his master’s degree program in business administration, he is not eligible for the STEM extension.

Which are the STEM Professions?

To answer this question, CIS will refer to a “STEM Designated Degree Program List,” which is based on the U.S. Department of Education’s “Classification of Instructional Programs” (CIP) 2000 report, found online at

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002165.

According to CIS, the list of degrees includes those in the following fields: Computer Science: NCES CIP Codes 11 .xxxx (except Data Entry/ Microcomputer Applications, NCES CIP Codes 11.06xx)

  • Engineering: NCES CIP Codes 14.xxxx
  • Engineering Technologies: NCES CIP Codes 15.xxxx
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences: NCES CIP Codes 26.xxxx
  • Mathematics and Statistics: NCES CIP Codes 27.xxxx
  • Military Technologies: NCES CIP Codes 29.xxxx
  • Physical Sciences: NCES CIP Codes 40.xxxxx
  • Science Technologies: NCES CIP Codes 41.xxxx
  • Medical Scientist (MS, PhD): NCES CIP Code 51.1401
  • Actuarial Science: NCES CIP Code 52.1304

To apply for the 17-month extension of employment authorization, STEM graduates on OPT must seek out the recommendation of the Designated School Official (DSO), who must make the recommendation through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Once the DSO recommends the extended training period, the student must submit a form I-765 (with fee) to the CIS before the expiration date of his current EAD. Please remember that STEM OPT will not be granted unless the employer is registered to participate in E-Verify.

The new rule automatically extends EADs for 180 days for students with pending requests for extension of post-completion OPT while CIS adjudicates the request for the extension.

n addition to registering in the E-Verify employment verification program, employers must report to the student’s DSO within 48 hours if the student leaves the employer prior to the end of the authorized OPT employment period. A student will be deemed to have left the employment if the employer knows that the student has terminated employment or if the student has not reported for work for 5 consecutive business days without the consent of the employer, whichever occurs earlier. The employer can find the DSO’s contact information on the student’s form I-20.

Under the regulation, students seeking a 17-month STEM extension must agree to report within 10 days the following changes to the DSO:

  • The student’s legal name
  • The student’s residential or mailing address
  • The employer’s name
  • Address of the student’s employer
  • Loss of employment
  • And, in a Fact Sheet posted on the CIS website, the agency says that the student must also notify the DSO of the following additional changes:
  • Job Title of position
  • E-mail address
  • Supervisor name and contact information
  • Employment start-date
  • Employment end-date

The student must also make a validation report with the school every six months from the date the STEM extension starts, even if there have been no changes. All of the information reported to the school must be reported in SEVIS by the DSO.

Yes. A 60 day grace period applies after the extended 17-month OPT employment authorization expires. Again, no employment is permitted during these 60 days.

For the first time, the CIS has addressed the question of students with an EAD who are unemployed. Students with a 12-month EAD may only have an aggregate maximum period of unemployment of 90 days. That period increases by 30 days for F-1 students in the 17 month STEM extension period.

Employment must be at least 20 hours a week and must be related to the student’s degree program. Students, such as musicians and other performing artists, may work “gigs.”

Students on OPT may also start a business and be self-employed, but the self-employment must be full time. A student may work for more than one employer, but all employment must be related to the degree program. Regarding unpaid employment (e.g., volunteer work), Student and Exchange Visitor Program rules provide:

– For regular post-completion OPT, the employment does not have to be paid employment, but it does have to be at least 20 hours a week.

– For the 17-month STEM extension, employment must be paid employment, and it must be at least 20 hours a week. Volunteer work is permitted, but it does not count as employment for maintaining status.

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