OPT in plain English: how F-1 students work after graduation — and the rules that trip people up.

The basics

What OPT actually is

OPT is temporary work authorization for F-1 students, in a job directly related to your major, for up to 12 months per education level. You don't need an employer to sponsor you and you don't enter a lottery — you apply to USCIS yourself, receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), and work.

Two things people misunderstand. First, OPT isn't a separate visa — you're still in F-1 status the whole time; the rules of F-1 still apply. Second, the 12 months are per education level: finish a bachelor's and use your 12 months, then complete a master's, and you get a fresh 12 months. But you only get one bite per level.

Sources: USCIS — OPT for F-1 Students · 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)–(13).

The basics

Who qualifies

To be eligible for post-completion OPT you generally need to have:

• been enrolled full-time in F-1 status for at least one full academic year (two consecutive terms — summer usually doesn't count);
• a job — or the plan to find one — that relates to your field of study (you do not need a job offer to apply);
• and not already used 12 months or more of full-time Curricular Practical Training (CPT) at the same level. Full-time CPT of 12+ months wipes out your OPT eligibility entirely; part-time CPT doesn't.

You also have to be physically in the U.S. to file. And note the date that governs everything below: your program end date is the last date of your enrollment as certified by your school — not your graduation ceremony or the day your degree is conferred.

Sources: USCIS — Form I-765 Instructions · DHS Study in the States — OPT.

The basics

Pre-completion vs post-completion

You can use OPT before you finish your degree (part-time during the school year, full-time during breaks), but every bit you use that way is subtracted from your 12 months. That's why most students save the whole allotment for post-completion OPT — the year after graduation — which is what the rest of this guide is about.

Source: USCIS — Form I-765 Instructions.

Applying

How — and exactly when — you apply

The process is two-handed: your school starts it, you finish it.

• Your DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS and issues you a new Form I-20 with that recommendation on it.
• You file Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) with USCIS, with the fee and supporting documents.

Now the timing, which is where applications die. There are two separate deadlines, and you have to satisfy both:

• USCIS will accept your I-765 no earlier than 90 days before your program end date and no later than 60 days after it.
• Inside that window, USCIS must receive your I-765 within 30 days of the date your DSO entered the OPT recommendation and issued your new I-20. If the I-20 is older than 30 days when your application arrives, it's rejected — even if you're still inside the 90/60 window.

That second rule catches people who mail a paper application near the deadline and lose days to the post office. Filing online through myUSCIS receipts almost instantly, which is the safest way to beat the 30-day clock — and it costs $50 less.

You choose your OPT start date, which must fall between the day after your program end date and 60 days after it. And miss the 60-day-after deadline entirely and you lose OPT for that degree level — no extension, no appeal. The remaining options are to transfer to a new program, change status, or leave.

Sources: USCIS — Form I-765 Instructions · DHS Study in the States — OPT.

Applying

What it costs

The Form I-765 filing fee for OPT is $470 online or $520 by paper, under the USCIS fee rule that took effect April 1, 2024. There's no separate biometrics fee for OPT anymore — it's folded into that amount.

Two warnings worth your time. A lot of guides still quote $410; that figure was retired in 2024, and paying it gets your application rejected. And the $1,780 you may have seen is not the filing fee — it's optional premium processing (Form I-907, raised to $1,780 on March 1, 2026), which guarantees USCIS takes action within 30 business days. Most students who file early don't need it. Fees do change, so confirm the current amount on the USCIS fee schedule before you file.

Sources: USCIS — Fee Calculator / G-1055 · USCIS — Filing Fees.

Before you start

You cannot work until the EAD is in your hand

This is the rule nobody should learn the hard way. An approval notice is not work authorization. A receipt notice is not work authorization. You may begin working only when you physically hold the EAD card and the start date printed on it has arrived. Processing typically runs about 2–5 months (faster online, slower on paper), so the gap between graduating and your first legal day of work can be real — plan for it.

Working before that point is unauthorized employment, with consequences that reach well past OPT: it can mean removal, bars on re-entry, and the accrual of unlawful presence.

Source: USCIS — OPT for F-1 Students.

While on OPT

The 90-day unemployment clock

During your 12-month post-completion OPT, you may accrue no more than 90 cumulative days of unemployment. Three details decide who stays in status and who doesn't:

• The clock starts on your EAD start date — not your graduation, and not the day you find a job. Every jobless day from that start date counts, including the stretch before your first role.
• The days keep counting even if you leave the country. Going home to job-hunt doesn't pause it.
• "Employed" means working at least 20 hours a week in your field. Anything under 20 hours counts toward your unemployment days.

Cross 90 days and the system acts on its own: SEVP can automatically terminate your SEVIS record (typically within about 15 days), which ends your OPT and your F-1 status. There is no grace period bolted onto the 90 days. If you're nearing the limit, the moves are to leave before day 91, or transfer into a new program in time.

If you go on to a 24-month STEM extension, you get an extra 60 days — 150 days total across the whole OPT-plus-STEM period (the first 90 carry over).

Source: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E).

While on OPT

What counts as "employment"

More counts than people assume — as long as it's at least 20 hours a week and related to your major:

• paid employment, including multiple part-time jobs combined to reach 20+ hours;
• paid internships, and unpaid internships if they're lawful under labor law and meet the hours;
• self-employment — you can start your own business, but it has to be real, in your field, and your DSO reports it in SEVIS;
• volunteering, but only if it's genuinely unpaid, lawful, 20+ hours, and in your field.

The non-negotiable thread is the direct relationship to your field of study. If USCIS questions it later, the burden of proof is on you — so keep a short written explanation linking your duties to what you studied, and hold onto evidence. The classic trap: an engineering graduate waiting tables to make rent isn't "employed" for OPT purposes, and treating it as such is a status violation. And one more — your LinkedIn and your employer's site should match the authorization you actually hold.

Source: DHS Study in the States — OPT (direct-relationship guidance).

While on OPT

Reporting: the 10-day rule

You're responsible for keeping your record current through the SEVP Portal. Report any change of employer, end of employment, or change of address within 10 days. After your OPT start date, you'll get an activation email from [email protected] to set up the portal (check spam — the link expires). Address changes also have to go to USCIS separately, via Form AR-11.

This sounds minor; it isn't. Failing to report — going 90 days without employer information on file — is treated the same as 90 days of unemployment and can trigger automatic SEVIS termination.

Source: DHS Study in the States — OPT reporting.

While on OPT

Traveling while on OPT

Travel is legal but carries real risk, especially while your I-765 is still pending or while you're between jobs. To re-enter you generally need a valid F-1 visa, an I-20 with the OPT recommendation and a current travel signature (valid only 6 months while on OPT, not the 12 you had as a student), your EAD, and ideally a letter from your employer. If you're unemployed and you leave, a border officer can deny you entry — and your unemployment days keep ticking the whole time you're abroad. Most international offices advise against leaving while an application is pending.

Source: USCIS — OPT for F-1 Students.

What comes next

The bridge to H-1B (and the STEM extension)

OPT is a bridge, and it connects forward in two ways. If your employer files a timely cap-subject H-1B petition requesting an October 1 change of status while your post-completion OPT is still valid, cap-gap automatically extends your F-1 status and work authorization so you don't fall out of status waiting for H-1B to begin. Note the current rule, because a lot of older advice is wrong: cap-gap no longer ends on October 1. Under the rule in effect since the FY 2026 season, it now runs until April 1 of the fiscal year the H-1B is for (or the approved petition's start date, if earlier) — roughly six months more breathing room than the old cutoff, which matters because petitions often sit pending for months. It's automatic, but your DSO must issue an updated I-20, and it ends the moment the H-1B is denied, withdrawn, revoked, or rejected. (Helpful to know: time on OPT does not count against the H-1B six-year clock.)

The other path forward is the 24-month STEM OPT extension, if your degree is on the DHS STEM list — three years of work authorization in total, and effectively three cracks at the H-1B lottery instead of one. That has its own employer and paperwork rules; we cover them in the STEM OPT deep dive.

Read next: The H-1B changes of 2025–2026, in plain English · Source: 8 CFR 214.2(f), eCFR (cap-gap).

What's settled vs moving

What could change

The core of OPT above — the 12 months, the 90-day rule, the filing windows, the field-of-study requirement, the fee — is settled and in force as of mid-2026. The thing to watch sits upstream, in F-1 itself: in August 2025 DHS proposed replacing "duration of status" with a fixed admission period (up to four years), after which students would file an extension of stay (Form I-539) to continue. As of this writing it remains a proposed rule, not final, and duration of status is still in effect — but if it lands, a longer program plus OPT plus a STEM extension could require an extension filing partway through. Anything you read claiming the post-graduation rules have already been rewritten: check the date and check it against the official source.

One more thing worth clearing up, because the headlines scared a lot of students: the end of automatic EAD extensions for renewal filings (effective October 30, 2025) does not touch initial OPT — initial OPT was never a renewal and never carried that auto-extension in the first place. And STEM OPT keeps its own separate protection: a timely, properly filed STEM extension still automatically extends your work authorization for up to 180 days while it's pending.

Sources: DHS fixed-period proposed rule (Aug 28, 2025) · 8 CFR 214.2(f)(11) (STEM 180-day rule) · the full path, mapped.