Post-Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) Tutorial
Points to Remember
- All required documents and forms mentioned in the checklist must be completed prior to your appointment with the advisor. If the documents are incomplete or copies are not to the stated specifications, the advisor may reschedule your appointment to another date and time.
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Although we will help you assemble your application, you will be responsible for mailing the completed application packet to the USCIS service center. The OPT application must reach the service center within 30 days of the Designated School Official (DSO) entering the OPT recommendation into SEVIS.
- Two or three weeks after mailing the packet, the Office of International Education (OIE) will receive an official Receipt Notice from USCIS confirming your OPT application was received at the service center and is being processed. All USCIS correspondence will be sent to the OIE, whereupon we will open the documents and make copies. We will email you as soon as we receive any information regarding your OPT application. You can collect the item from the OIE in person, request that we mail it to your address outside Wichita, or designate a friend to collect the item on your behalf. In the upper left-hand corner of the Receipt Notice will be a Receipt Number with which you can check the status of your application on the USCIS website. Using this Receipt Number, you can also sign up to receive notification emails from USCIS regarding the status of your case.
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Keep in mind that OPT processing time can vary greatly. For a standard application, the average processing time is around 4 months. We recommend that you apply as early as possible to ensure your EAD arrives in a timely manner. If you apply on or near the 60th day after graduation, you will likely not receive a full 12 months of OPT authorization because OPT cannot extend more than 14 months beyond your program end date.
- You may not start working before you receive the EAD from USCIS and the start date printed on the card has passed.
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Once your OPT has been approved and the start date on printed on the card has passed, you will receive an email from do-not-reply.SEVP@ice.dhs.gov inviting you to create an optional SEVP Portal account. If you choose to create one, it will allow you to electronically report changes to your address and employment information.
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Students with certain STEM degrees (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) may qualify for an extension of OPT. To learn more about the STEM OPT extension, please visit the separate STEM OPT Extension Tutorial. The tutorial includes a link to a list of eligible majors.
- Important information for thesis/project graduate students: In order for the DSO to make a recommendation for OPT in SEVIS, regulations require the program end date on the I-20 be shortened even though the terminal activity may not yet be complete.
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