OPT: Optional Practical Training for F-1 Students

OPT is temporary work authorization for students in F-1 status. The work must be directly related to your major. You get up to 12 months of OPT at each higher education level, for example 12 months after a bachelor's degree and another 12 months after a master's degree.

There are two types:

• Pre-completion OPT: while you are still studying. Part time (up to 20 hours a week) during the school term, or full time during official breaks. Time used is subtracted from your 12 months.
• Post-completion OPT: after you finish your program, full time or at least 20 hours a week. This is the most common type.

If you used 12 months or more of full-time Curricular Practical Training (CPT), you are not eligible for OPT at that degree level. Part-time CPT does not affect OPT.

Graduates with a qualifying science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degree may later extend OPT by 24 months. See STEM OPT.

You generally qualify if you:

• Are in valid F-1 status
• Have been enrolled full time for at least one full academic year at a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)
• Have a job plan related to your field of study (you do not need a job offer to apply for post-completion OPT)
• Have not used up your OPT at this degree level

Language training students are not eligible for OPT.

1. Ask your DSO for a recommendation. Your international student office enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS and gives you a new Form I-20 showing it.
2. File Form I-765 with USCIS within 30 days of the DSO recommendation. For post-completion OPT, USCIS must receive it no earlier than 90 days before your program end date and no later than 60 days after it.
3. Pay the fee: $520 on paper or $470 online (USCIS fee schedule, September 2026). You can request premium processing on Form I-907 for $1,780.
4. Choose a start date within 60 days after your program end date.
5. Request a Social Security number on the same form if you do not have one. See SSN and ITIN.

You cannot start working until USCIS approves the EAD and the start date on the card has arrived. If you file late, USCIS will deny the application, and you cannot fix a missed deadline.

• Related work. Every job must be directly related to your major. You can work for more than one employer, work as a contractor, or be self-employed, as long as it relates to your field.
• At least 20 hours a week counts as employment for post-completion OPT.
• 90 days of unemployment. You may be unemployed for up to 90 days in total during post-completion OPT. Exceeding the limit can end your status.
• Report changes within 10 days. Report your employer, address, and job details through the SEVP Portal or your DSO.
• Grace period. After OPT ends, you have 60 days to leave, change status, or start a new program.

Keep records of each job: offer letters, duties, hours, and how the work relates to your studies.

Travel is riskiest while your OPT application is pending, especially if your program has ended. After your EAD is approved, you generally need these to return to the US:

• A valid passport and a valid F-1 visa (renew at a US consulate if expired)
• Your I-20 with a DSO travel signature, usually signed within the last 6 months
• Your EAD card
• Proof of employment or a job offer

Visa appointments abroad can take a long time, and most applicants now need an in-person interview. Talk to your DSO before any trip. See our visa interview guide.

• Duration of status rule blocked. A DHS rule would have given F-1 students fixed admission dates from September 15, 2026, requiring some OPT workers to file Form I-539 extensions. A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked it nationwide on September 14, 2026. For now, OPT works under the old rules. See F-1 fixed admission period status.
• CPT guidance. Guidance from SEVP in August 2026 takes a narrow view of Curricular Practical Training. It was not part of the blocked rule and remains in effect.
• Possible future changes. DHS has signaled plans to change OPT through new rules, but as of September 22, 2026 no rule changing OPT had taken effect. Your DSO will know first.
• Work permit changes elsewhere (shorter EAD validity and the end of most automatic extensions in late 2025) did not change OPT or STEM OPT.

OPT is also the bridge many students use to the H-1B lottery. If selected, you may be covered by the cap-gap extension.