Employment and Address Reporting

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24-Month STEM Extension Optional Practical Training (OPT) Tutorial

Employment and Address Reporting Requirements

Failure to meet all reporting requirements may result in the automatic termination of your SEVIS record, resulting in a status violation and the subsequent end of any remaining OPT authorization:

Change of Address

If you move during the 24-month OPT extension period, you must report your change of address to the International Education office within 10 days by using the electronic Change of Address feature on our website or using your SEVP Portal account.

Keep in mind that we are only updating SEVIS; you’ll also need to update your address in the WSU database directly by changing the information in your myWSU account.

Learn more about address changes in our FAQ.

Employment Information

While on the 24-month STEM OPT extension, you must report any changes in employment, including periods of unemployment, to International Education within 10 days. This information is reported through submission of the Form I-983.* We will update your SEVIS record as required by USCIS. Please note: while you may have the ability to update some of this information yourself in the SEVP Portal, F-1 regulations require you to submit an updated I-983 to your school.

Students authorized for the 24-month STEM OPT Extension are allowed to have multiple employers, but remember that each STEM employer must be E-Verify and that you must also submit an Employer Memorandum of Understanding and completed Form I-983* Training Plan for STEM OPT Students for each employer.

Learn more about reporting changes to your employment in our FAQ.

Material Changes to Form I-983 Training Plan for STEM OPT Students

Students are required to report material changes to, or material deviations from, the student’s formal training plan at the earliest available opportunity. For a detailed list of material changes, visit our FAQ page. The following are examples of some of the changes requiring submission of a new Form I-983. However, if any of the information recorded on the initial version of the Form I-983 submitted to our office has changed, a fully completed and signed form must be submitted. For this reason, we strongly advise keeping an easily accessible copy of the Form I-983 for yourself.

Change to site location or employer address. The site location is the physical location where the job duties are performed. The employer address may be different from the site location. If either changes, a new Form I-983 must be submitted.
Change of Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Any reduction in compensation from the amount previously listed on Training Plan that is not a result of a reduction in hours worked
Any significant decrease in the hours per week that a student will work, including a decrease below the 20-hour minimum employment level per week that would violate the requirements of the STEM OPT extension
Changes to the employer’s commitments or student’s learning objectives as documented on the Form I-983*.

Students should submit a new Form I-983*, pages 1-4, to the OIE to comply with this reporting requirement.

*A guide to completing the I-983 can be found on Page 5 of the tutorial.