OPT Information
F-1 students at Worldwide who would like to apply for off-campus work authorization, related to their program of study, must request permission from Worldwide ISS online.
If you already have a job offer or need to report changes in your employment, you must submit a new update report below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a period during which undergraduate and graduate students with F-1 status who have completed their degrees are permitted to work, volunteer, or take non-degree courses.
- Academic year
- You must currently be maintaining an F-1 status
- The proposed OPT must be directly related to your major
The window for applying for OPT begins 90 days before graduation and is open for up to 60 days after graduation. You will want to ensure that you do not apply even one day early or one day late or the request will automatically be denied.
Send an email to wwintstc@erau.edu to request OPT appointment
Once you receive a recommendation to pursue OPT, you must apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) with USCIS within 30 days from the date the DSO signed the OPT I-20. To do this, you will submit a Form I-765, “Application for Employment Authorization,” together with all the required documents reviewed by the DSO at the time of your OPT appointment to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and pay a filing fee.
You may begin working only after receiving the EAD card. You may begin OPT on the start date issued by USCIS on your OPT EAD. You may not begin working even a day before your actual OPT start date, even though you may have received your EAD before the actual start date listed on your EAD.
Pre-completion OPT is available at Worldwide. Email wwintstc@erau.edu for requirements.
Yes, OPT can be part-time. 20 hours or less of work hours constitutes part-time OPT.
You would be allowed to begin your OPT as long as you retake the course the very next semester, either on-ground/in-person or online. If you fail the course again, then your OPT and your record would be terminated.
OPT is approved for one year.
Those F-1 students who are currently on a regular period of OPT and have completed a program that is designated by the Department of Homeland Security as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) program are eligible to apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension
It’s highly recommended that you not leave the United States. You are not restricted from leaving, but it is highly recommended that you remain in county. However, if you are in a Cap-Gap status, you do not want to leave the country.
An F-1 student on post-completion OPT (Optional Practical Training) cannot be unemployed for more than 90 days cumulatively (or 120 cumulative days if on STEM extension), or the student will no longer have a valid F-1 visa and will be out of immigration status.
With the new SEVIS updates, an F-1 student whose employment fails to appear in SEVIS may be “auto terminated” by SEVIS after 90 days, due to the 90-day unemployment rule. For this reason, students must be sure to consistently keep their employment information current with the school from which they graduated. Remember that employment, for purposes of avoiding the 90-day rule, can also include self-employment, contract work, and even volunteering.
Once employed please submit a new OPT Employment Update record online, to report the information below. Failure to do this in a timely manner will subject your I-20 to be terminated and loss of employment. Please include your employment offer letter in the online update record. The following information is needed:
With the new SEVIS updates, an F-1 student whose employment fails to appear in SEVIS may be “auto terminated” by SEVIS after 90 days, due to the 90-day unemployment rule. For this reason, students must be sure to consistently keep their employment information current with the school from which they graduated. Remember that employment, for purposes of avoiding the 90-day rule, can also include self-employment, contract work, and even volunteering.
Once employed please submit a new OPT Employment Update record online, to report the information below. Failure to do this in a timely manner will subject your I-20 to be terminated and loss of employment. Please include your employment offer letter in the online update record. The following information is needed:
- Employer Name
- Employer EIN
- Employer Address
- Job Title
- Job status (Full time/Part time)
- Start Date
- End Date
- Last name of supervisor
- First name of supervisor
- Phone number of supervisor
- Email address of supervisor
- Your current address
If you have multiple employers, you must report all of them by providing the same information for each employer.
Please provide a copy of your new employer offer letter together with the fields above in a new online OPT Employment Update record.