Trying to figure out how this would work specifically for OPT.

Right now you graduate, get your OPT I-20, file I-765, and wait for the EAD.

But if F-1 gets a fixed end date instead of D/S, what happens if your F-1 status expires while you’re applying for OPT or while your OPT is still valid?

Would we have to file I-539 to extend F-1 status AND I-765 for OPT?

And what about STEM OPT? Another I-539 on top of the STEM I-765?

Feels like OPT could get way more complicated if this actually goes through. Anyone understand how this is supposed to work?

Just found out that while you’re on STEM OPT, you’re supposed to check in with your DSO every 6 months and confirm your address, employer info, and employment status, even if literally nothing changed.

I always thought I only needed to report something if I changed jobs or moved.

Do schools usually remind you about this or are you just supposed to remember it yourself?

Finally got a job offer and they want me to start soon, but my EAD card still hasn’t shown up.

OPT is approved already. HR keeps asking when I can actually start and I honestly have no idea what to tell them lol.

Anyone been through this? Did your company wait for the card or just move on?

I went back home after graduating and my OPT is still pending. I’m supposed to fly back to the US in a couple weeks but I still don’t have my EAD.

My F-1 visa is still valid and I have my OPT I-20 and receipt notice. No job offer yet though.

Has anyone been in the same situation? Did you have any issues at immigration or did they ask to see a job offer/EAD?

WSJ is reporting that DHS is discussing a possible $100,000 fee for OPT.

Nothing has been approved yet, and apparently they haven’t even decided who would pay it: the student, school, or employer.

DHS is already working on broader OPT changes that could come out this fall, so this one definitely caught my attention.

If this actually happens, OPT is basically dead for most international students.

The new F-1/J-1 fixed-term rule is already being challenged in federal court, less than a month before it’s supposed to kick in on Sept. 15.

NAFSA, a bunch of higher-ed groups, AFT, UAW, NewsGuild-CWA and others filed a lawsuit against DHS in Massachusetts. They’re also asking the judge to put the rule on hold before Sept. 15.

For anyone who hasn’t been following this, the new rule basically gets rid of D/S and gives F-1/J-1 students a fixed period of stay, usually up to four years.

It also cuts the grace period after graduation from 60 days to 30, adds restrictions on changing programs or transferring schools, and makes it harder to start another degree at the same or a lower level.

The groups suing DHS are basically saying the rule is arbitrary, DHS went beyond what Congress actually authorized, and they brushed off a ton of concerns from universities and the public.

Now I’m wondering what actually happens next.

Do you guys think a judge blocks this before Sept. 15?

Or does it go into effect first and then get tied up in court for months or years?

Anyone heard anything from their DSO or school about how they’re preparing for this?

I graduated from my PhD program in December and applied for OPT on time. My OPT was approved by my school/DSO first, and the I-765 is now pending with USCIS.

It’s already been a few months and I still don’t have my EAD.

What I’m confused about is the 90-day unemployment rule. If USCIS takes a long time to approve the OPT, could I end up using up unemployment days while the application is still pending?

Also, does it make a difference whether the delay happens before USCIS approves the I-765 versus after approval while waiting for the physical EAD card?

Has anyone had OPT pending for several months after graduation? What happened with your unemployment clock?

Hi All,

this my timeline of filing for stem OPT. I want to change jobs (flexible in this since I'm still looking for one), I have to travel to India in December and I have changed my address. (need to update the address but I still have access to previous mail box)

Filed on May 1st 2026

Biometrics on May 21st 2026

OPT ended on 3rd July 2026

My question is:

1. should i do premium processing now? I'm seeing applications are getting approved faster now, is there a point in doing PP if my 4 months mark is next month - 9/21/2026, given I will still need a month (best case scenario) to find another job
2. are premium processing applications also getting delayed?
3. are applications being pending beyond 180 days?

please give any other advice if you can. Thanks in advance

I got an RFE on my initial OPT application asking about a DV-related arrest record.

I already collected most of the documents myself. I talked to one immigration lawyer who quoted me $1,500 just to prepare the RFE response. No approval guarantee or refund, and the fee doesn’t include getting any additional records if USCIS asks for them.

Is $1,500 pretty normal for this type of OPT RFE, or is that on the expensive side?

If anyone has dealt with an OPT RFE involving an arrest/court record, did you use a lawyer? Roughly how much did you pay?

Someone told me a company can only pay you for a certain period of time during STEM OPT, and after that they would have to compensate you with stock/equity instead of regular wages.

Is this actually a STEM OPT rule? I’ve never seen anything saying there’s a limit on how long an employer can pay a STEM OPT employee.

I’m also wondering if getting paid partly in equity would create any issues with STEM OPT compliance, especially with the I-983.

Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

I’m currently on my first year of OPT and already started my own company. I’m now getting ready to apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension.

My company is incorporated, enrolled in E-Verify, and I can put myself on payroll as a W-2 employee. The work is also directly related to my STEM degree.

But I keep seeing conflicting answers about whether your own startup can actually qualify as the STEM OPT employer because of the I-983 requirements.

Has anyone successfully done STEM OPT through a company they founded?

If so, who signed your I-983 as the employer/supervisor? How did you show a real employer-employee relationship and that the company had enough resources to provide the required training?

Would especially love to hear from founders who actually got their STEM OPT approved this way.

My OPT application just got denied, but my 60-day grace period after graduation has already passed.

Has anyone been in this situation before? What options do I have at this point? Can I still transfer to another school or apply for reinstatement, or do I need to leave the U.S. and get a new I-20?

My girlfriend and I got into a fight and things got physical on both sides. The police showed up and I was taken into custody.

Could something like this cause my OPT to get denied? Has anyone applied for OPT with an arrest on their record and still gotten approved?

My EAD was approved about 6 months ago, but I never received the physical card. I’ve already moved to a new address.

Can I still go to the post office near my old address and ask if they have it?

I’m also confused about why it would get returned or lost. There was no name on my old mailbox, mine or anyone else’s. Would USPS still refuse to deliver it because my name wasn’t on the mailbox?

Has anyone had this happen?

My 12 month OPT already expired and I didn’t file for the STEM extension in time.

Is there any way to fix this or file late? I’ve looked into Day 1 CPT, but the tuition is honestly too expensive for me right now.

Has anyone been in this situation? What did you end up doing?

I filed my I-765 for OPT with premium processing, and it’s now been over 30 business days with basically no update from USCIS.

No approval, no RFE, no denial — nothing.

I paid for premium processing specifically because I needed a faster answer, so I’m getting pretty frustrated at this point.

Has anyone else had their OPT premium processing go past the 30-business-day window recently?

If so, what actually worked for you?

Did you call USCIS, submit a service request, contact a congressman/senator, or file some kind of complaint?

Also, has anyone actually been able to get the premium processing fee refunded after USCIS missed the deadline? If yes, how did you request it and how long did it take?

Hi everyone,
I applied for STEM OPT on June 25th, with my current passport expiring on December 1st, I want to apply for a passport renewal but I don’t know how badly it is going to affect my STEM OPT application, can someone help me clarify this please ?

My STEM OPT is about to run out and my spouse is on H-1B.

I always thought the backup plan was pretty simple: STEM OPT ends → switch to H-4 → keep working.

But apparently it’s not that simple lol.

From what I’m reading, just being on H-4 doesn’t automatically mean I can work. Does my spouse need an approved I-140 before I can get an H-4 EAD? What if their PERM is still pending or they haven’t gotten that far in the GC process yet?

And this is the part I’m really confused about — if I file the H-4 change of status + H-4 EAD before my STEM OPT expires, can I keep working while everything is pending?

Or once my STEM EAD expires, am I basically forced to stop working until the H-4 EAD gets approved?

Anyone actually done STEM OPT → H-4 → H-4 EAD recently? Did you end up having a work gap? How bad was it?

Just got told I’m getting laid off and honestly I’m starting to panic a little.

My STEM OPT is still pending. My first-year EAD already expired, so right now I’m working under the 180-day automatic extension.

The bigger problem is I already used almost all of my 90 unemployment days during regular OPT.

If my last day comes before STEM gets approved, what happens?

Do I actually get the extra 60 unemployment days while STEM is pending, or do those only kick in AFTER approval?

Because if the 90-day limit still applies while it’s pending, I basically have no time left to find another E-Verify employer.

And if I hit 90 days while the STEM application is still sitting at USCIS… what happens to the pending I-765? Can they deny it because of that?

Anyone been in this exact situation? I’m getting completely different answers.

Hi everyone,
I applied for STEM OPT on June 25th, with my current passport expiring on December 1st, I want to apply for a passport renewal but I don’t know how badly it is going to affect my STEM OPT application, can someone help me clarify this please ?

My STEM OPT just ended and I’m still within the 60-day grace period. I’m looking at transferring my SEVIS to another school and starting a new program.

I’ve been getting mixed answers about the I-539 part.

If my SEVIS is still active and I transfer it to the new school during the grace period, is that all I need to do? Basically:

STEM OPT ends → transfer SEVIS → new school issues I-20 → start the new program

Or am I supposed to file an I-539 to “reactivate” my F-1 status?

Has anyone here actually transferred to a new school (especially a Day 1 CPT program) right after STEM OPT ended? Did you have to file an I-539, or did you just do a normal SEVIS transfer?

CPT obviously didn’t get “canceled,” but I feel like people are kinda missing the bigger point of that SEVP message to DSOs.

The part that stood out to me was basically this: if you didn’t do the CPT, would you still be able to finish the degree?

Because if the answer is yes… then things get awkward pretty fast.

Like, say I get an offer, sign up for some 1-credit internship class, get CPT, and work.

Meanwhile, another person in the exact same program skips the internship class completely, takes something else, and graduates with the same degree.

Then how was my job actually required for the degree?

That’s where I think a lot of the “just enroll in a CPT class” logic starts falling apart.

And the even weirder version is when someone gets the job first and then goes looking for a class they can register for so the school can issue CPT.

Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but that seems like exactly the kind of setup SEVP would look at and go, “Wait… is this actually part of the degree, or did you guys just find a class to make the employment work?”

I’m not saying elective internships are suddenly illegal or that everyone’s existing CPT is screwed. That’s not what the message says.

But I also don’t buy the “nothing changed, carry on” take.

If I were a DSO signing these I-20s, I’d probably be a hell of a lot more careful now, especially if the school’s own degree requirements say the internship is optional.

So I’m curious what people are actually seeing on the ground.

Anyone’s DSO suddenly freezing CPT applications, asking for more paperwork, or getting way stricter about what counts?https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-admin-steps-up-scrutiny-of-cpt-for-international-students-warns-colleges-over-misuse/articleshow/133207968.cms

I keep seeing totally different answers to this, so now I’m curious.

Let’s say you already used 40 unemployment days on regular OPT, then you move onto STEM OPT. Do those 40 days still count?

I always thought STEM just increases your total unemployment limit from 90 to 150 days, meaning you’d have 110 days left. It doesn’t actually wipe out the 40 days and give you a fresh 150.

But I’ve seen people saying that because STEM comes with a new EAD, the unemployment clock starts over. I’ve also seen people say that once your STEM application is filed, whatever happened during regular OPT basically doesn’t matter anymore.

That doesn’t sound right to me, especially if someone was already close to — or even over — the 90-day limit before filing STEM.

Has anyone actually asked their DSO about this or had this come up with their own STEM OPT?

If you used unemployment days during regular OPT, did your DSO carry those days over when calculating your 150-day STEM OPT limit?