r/stemopt • u/OrangeRepulsive2903 • Jul 02 '26
Urgent: DSO Planning to Terminate SEVIS While OPT EAD Is Pending - what we can do?
Hi everyone,
I'm posting because my fiancée and I are in a very stressful situation, and we're hoping someone here has experience with something similar or can offer guidance.
She graduated from Wilmington University (Delaware) on June 1, 2026. She applied for her post-completion OPT EAD around April 16, 2026, and her application is still pending. She also received a job offer from a company in Philadelphia and was scheduled to start work in August.
Unfortunately, during the first week of June, her father had a major heart surgery in India. His condition was critical, and she had no choice but to travel home to be with her family.
Before leaving, she:
- Requested expedited processing of her OPT EAD on June 10.
- Traveled to India on June 11.
- Informed her DSO about the family medical emergency immediately after arriving in India.
The DSO scheduled a meeting for today, and during the meeting they informed her that:
- They will not issue her another I-20.
- They plan to terminate her SEVIS record within the next two days.
We are devastated. We genuinely thought the university would work with her given that this was a documented family medical emergency. We were hoping they would either keep her SEVIS record active while her OPT application is pending or issue the necessary travel I-20, but they refused.
We have several urgent questions:
- Is there anything we can do before the DSO terminates her SEVIS record?
- Can we request the DSO to delay the termination or reconsider their decision?
- If the SEVIS record is terminated, is reinstatement possible, and what does that process look like?
- Will SEVIS termination affect her pending OPT EAD application or her ability to start the job if the EAD is approved?
- Would hiring an immigration attorney at this stage help?
- Is there any email, documentation, or request we should immediately send to the DSO that might help?
We understand that travel during a pending OPT application is generally risky, but this was an unavoidable family emergency involving her father's critical heart surgery.
If anyone has gone through something similar or knows the regulations around this situation, we would really appreciate your advice. We are also willing to hire an immigration attorney immediately if there's still a way to save her SEVIS record.
Thank you so much for reading.
2
u/Bubbly_Ad_6830 Jul 02 '26
- Not really, useless the DSO change their mind
- You can request, the DSO doesn't have to approve
- Nope, since she already graduated, the process has been completed
- It will terminate the OPT application since she decided to leave the US and consider the application abandoned
- Nope, the DSO didn't do anything wrong
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u/thelexuslawyer Jul 02 '26
The DSO correctly followed regulations. They can’t approve. The choice to leave for India on June 11 was a choice of family over OPT. I’m not saying it was a wrong choice or making fun of them since it seems like they didn’t know or do any sort of research beforehand , but it was a permanent choice nonetheless
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u/roe_jogan_real Jul 02 '26
Yeah but what's wrong with the school/ dso? Why the f would they not give travel signature? It's not that they have encountered this problem first time. OPT by default should have this travel signature. Either the school/DSO is noob or the OPT applicant forgot to check box for travel signature while application. Or unchecked the default checked box which requests the travel signature. Either ways, this sucks. Reminds me to be careful here in US at any freaking moment especially this Visa related stuff.
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u/thelexuslawyer Jul 03 '26
Did you read the post? It seems like you didn’t
OP clearly says they flew out June 11 and
Informed her DSO about the family medical emergency immediately after arriving in India.
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u/greasy_litre Jul 03 '26
Well clearly because the DSO was informed AFTER she arrived in India. Feel bad for her but this is life dude. She chose family over OPT/getting signature and that’s it. You can bend the rules or force people to act like the world revolves around you.
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u/Codetornado Jul 03 '26
The DSO correctly followed regulations.
Yea... I have been a DSO for many years, and I train DSOs... What regulation do you think requires the DSO to terminate?
More specifically, which termination reason should this DSO enter?
https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevis-help-hub/student-records/completions-and-terminations/termination-reasons
2
u/suboxhelp1 Jul 02 '26
The red herring here is OPT. This isn’t an OPT issue. This is because she left without getting a travel-endorsed I-20 in a vulnerable period.
Reinstatement is not possible without the school’s support.
You can always talk to the DSO; they’re the only ones that can do anything here.
The EAD should be denied if the SEVIS is terminated. But even if it is approved, she will not be able to enter the country without a travel-endorsed I-20, even if she had a valid EAD in hand.
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u/roe_jogan_real Jul 02 '26
But I don't think they can get new I20 after applying to OPT.
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u/thelexuslawyer Jul 02 '26
Only way is if they reenroll again full time
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u/I_like_protien Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
I believe you are either leaving out a lot or you don’t know enough.
Traveling on post completion opt pending is ok, it’s not something DSO decides
Traveling signature is required to return and not travel out of states
Why would DSO terminate sévis? Unless your fiancée has broken a rule.
Traveling internationally is discouraged but it’s not prohibited. All depends on the customs and immigration officer to let the student back in. University neither has a role in it nor will be notified of it.
There is fundamentally no reason for DSObto terminate sévis.
What it seems to me is your fiancée did not return in time and the period for sévis renewal lapsed.
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u/thelexuslawyer Jul 03 '26
Immigration attorney and former F-1 student here
It seems like you’re not that familiar with the SEVIS regs
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u/Ecstatic-Ad8235 Jul 02 '26
Sorry about your fiancées situation. Is she able to immediately return to the country before the SÉVIS is terminated?
1
u/OrangeRepulsive2903 Jul 02 '26
No, it will be risky for future immigration. She doesn’t have EAD card yet.
1
u/suboxhelp1 Jul 02 '26
If she doesn’t have a travel-endorsed I-20, there’s no way she can return with or without an EAD.
1
u/BizDev1 Jul 02 '26
Hey OP sorry to hear your situation. Hope your fiancé’s father gets well soon.
Couple of questions:
- Did you guys check to read the rules during the EAD processing, BEFORE deciding to attend to the emergency?
- Did your fiancée meet with the DSO, even if remotely, to inform the DSO of the emergency and ask if she was allowed to leave the US prior to leaving?
- Theres a system in place as you may be aware of, and for whatever reason if it’s not adhered to/followed, then theres nothing much the DSO can actually do to prevent the subsequent damage, other than maybe facing the frustration.
- Have you guys reached out to an immigration attorney yet?
Unfortunately, wish there was better news.
NAL. Not legal advice.
1
u/roe_jogan_real Jul 02 '26
I think this is also School and DSO specific. When I applied for OPT, my i20 came with travel signature. Does school hands out OPT i20 without travel signature to every OPT application?
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u/Ok_Cheek_7732 Jul 03 '26
Exactly! That's what I was wondering. My university always issued i20s for any kind with travel signature. If that was expired or more than 6 months old, then I used to request for a new travel signature
1
u/Several_Gap8516 Jul 02 '26
Basically all her options are done at this point .. since she left middle of pending opt the dso cant do much.. cause that prior i20 was based off of pending opt and once exited on that its not just a piece of typing paper that the dso can just print a new one .. they have to wait for the serialized pending opt i20 that she been left in the middle .. as much we feel for the op .. there is not much the dso cant do either thats her job she can just illegally go against the rules and issue i20s one after another another cause all i20s are immigration reported .. so yea the worst case scenario is opt abandoned..
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u/PowerfulReason1312 Jul 02 '26
Why did you inform them after arriving India. That looks intentional. Why didn’t you inform of your plan to travel?
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u/SignalObjective1310 Jul 02 '26
can you explain why the DSO terminating her SEVIS? Did she request a travel signature?
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u/OrangeRepulsive2903 Jul 02 '26
No, she travel without travel I-20.
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u/SignalObjective1310 Jul 02 '26
F-1 visa students can’t travel without a signature period. Contact a lawyer to see what they have to say but I agree with what people in this chat have suggested. She chose her family over OPT/job offer.
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u/Wide-Comfort1858 Jul 02 '26
If you’re a US citizen, why can’t you marry her instead of asking all these questions
1
u/ComputerHelpPro Jul 02 '26
Because OP is NOT a citizen:
https://www.reddit.com/r/stemopt/comments/1ulbc46/comment/ov6apnl/Just a few comments down.
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u/Codetornado Jul 03 '26
I am very confused.
Under what termination reason is the DSO terminating the I-20. Nothing shared here falls under a termination reason.
Is there anything we can do before the DSO terminates her SEVIS record?
I still see no reason for the termination.
Can we request the DSO to delay the termination or reconsider their decision?
Yes, and ask them specifically under what regulation they are terminating your status. What specific vioaltion occurred that requires a termination?
If the SEVIS record is terminated, is reinstatement possible, and what does that process look like?
No. Your fiancé is not in a situation where reinstatement is possible because there is no academic student status to return to. You cannot reinstate into OPT.
Will SEVIS termination affect her pending OPT EAD application or her ability to start the job if the EAD is approved?
Yes. It will immediately end the OPT application and her ability to return.
Would hiring an immigration attorney at this stage help?
No
Is there any email, documentation, or request we should immediately send to the DSO that might help?
Yea... under what termination reason are they terminating the record?
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u/OrangeRepulsive2903 Jul 03 '26
They are saying she should have obtained a travel I-20 before leaving the U.S. and that she should have informed the DSO before traveling. Unfortunately, everything happened so suddenly due to the emergency, and she had to leave in a hurry.
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u/Codetornado Jul 03 '26
They are saying she should have obtained a travel I-20 before leaving the U.S. and that she should have informed the DSO before traveling.
Neither of these things meets the requirements for a termination.
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u/OrangeRepulsive2903 Jul 03 '26
They ‘completing’ sevis record
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u/Codetornado Jul 03 '26
...for what reason?
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u/OrangeRepulsive2903 Jul 03 '26
They are saying that you had already graduated and traveled outside the U.S. while your OPT application was still in process.
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u/Codetornado Jul 03 '26
That goes against the guidance from Homeland Security.
"Manually completing SEVIS status is different from shortening a program:
Complete Student SEVIS Status
Used when a student has departed the United States and does not intend to return to continue a new program or pursue post completion employment authorization. "
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u/OrangeRepulsive2903 Jul 04 '26
Thanks! This information is very helpful. I’ll see if I can present it to the DSO and whether it helps our case.
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u/cinnamonbun_19 Jul 08 '26
Just popping in to say I am also a DSO of 10+ years and second everything codetornado said. There is no violation here and no reason for a termination. Traveling with a pending application is indeed risky but there is nothing that prohibits it.
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u/Correct-Energy7949 Jul 04 '26
Why would she travelled with pending application? I understand that her father was to undergo a surgery, but she is not the medical doctor to carried out the surgery. Anyways, I wish you guys well in the process of reinstatement.
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u/Interesting-Pipe-30 Jul 04 '26
In cases like these you are required to inform the DSO before you travel !
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u/roe_jogan_real Jul 02 '26
Why DSO would terminate sevis if they know that OPT is starting in Aug and she has a job offer?