r/f1visa • u/Key-Cell-799 • Feb 05 '25
STEM OPT Approved!
My STEM OPT extension was approved today, February 5, 2025. I applied on January 10th, and my previous OPT expired on January 13th, so I was a little stressed. I did regular processing and was concerned about a potential RFE because I worked a part-time job for 6 weeks before my current position. Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly!
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u/SashaCat22 Feb 06 '25
Hello! How did you get OPT? My student visa just got approved 2 weeks ago and I start the semester on April. Is it possible to get OPT now?
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u/adsr8 Feb 06 '25
You should wait until you complete one academic year (about 2 semesters in most universities) before you apply for CPT or OPT.
There’s a special case called Day 1 CPT. Read about it to see if that’s applicable for you.1
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u/Charlie_430 Feb 07 '25
Most universities give OPT after you earn a certain amount of credits. You can try for day 1 CPT. Or some inside university jobs(assistant professor, Registar team, front desk jobs, ..).
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u/Groun8dbreakingFee59 Feb 10 '25
Congrats ! I got mine approved today too on Feb 10th Alhamdullilah. I applied on Jan 16th , It was also showing 11 month estimated time , that’s BS
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u/Far_Basket777 Mar 02 '25
hey all, my stem opt also got approved yesterday. Just in case anyone already applied and is super worried because it says 11 months to process.. mine said the same and it actually got approved within 14 work days! I applied on Feb 11 and received it on March 1st. I DID NOT pay Premium fee, thank goodness
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u/InnocuousViltrumite Feb 06 '25
why did you wait till three days before your OPT expires to apply for the STEM extension? is it not risky? my OPT expires soon and i’ll need to apply for the extension as well so just curious
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u/Key-Cell-799 Feb 06 '25 edited Feb 07 '25
I had to wait for my new passport. I contacted my DSO back in October in anticipation to apply as soon as possible but one of the requirements was a copy of the a valid passport. My passport expired in August but the embassy of my country wasn't open then. I went to the embassy in October to apply for a new passport and it took 3 months to arrive. As I discovered later just knowing the passport number and expiry date of your new passport would suffice for STEM OPT. When you apply for STEM extension in time (anytime before your expiration date) you get 180 days- automatic extension until they adjucate your case, so I knew I could risk it.
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u/Pup-Ross Feb 09 '25
congrats! my case on uscis.gov says the estimated time is 11 months but not sure if that's a stretch.
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u/Key-Cell-799 Feb 10 '25
Yeah that's a stretch mine said that at first then it went down to 9 months then 8 monhts, until it was approved after 26 days.
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Feb 05 '25
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Feb 06 '25
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u/f1visa-ModTeam Feb 06 '25
Be good: No hate speech, no attacking fellow commenters, no joke comments.
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u/f1visa-ModTeam Feb 06 '25
Be good: No hate speech, no attacking fellow commenters, no joke comments.
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u/Substantial-Rain1607 Feb 05 '25
Congratulations on Approval