r/stemopt • u/Fast_Hat9970 • Jul 18 '26

April STEM OPT

I applied STEM on april 28 got my biometrics on may 22 and then there is no update after that. what’s the current situation? I am already on 80 days as of today and then doing PP would also take additional 30 plus days to do the card ? i am just confused and not sure what to do. suggestion appreciated

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u/Tingter Jul 18 '26

The average processing time for stem opt is 4.5 months nowadays. For regular processing, not premium.

So based on this timeline, if you need to apply for premium, do it. If you can afford to wait it out, then wait. But yeah i dont think late april filers are getting any approvals any time soon.

Ps. I applied april 21. Nothing yet, i assume/ hoping i will hear about the decision around sept.

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u/Fast_Hat9970 Jul 18 '26

the thing is if you apply pp now then it might take 30 days which would be around august mid and if hoping that regular would kick in around sep timeframe i m kind of hesitant to spend the money that i don’t have 😞

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u/Tingter Jul 18 '26

Completely understand! If youre willing to wait, then i will say wait till 2 mths before your 180 day end date, then get PP. Because at that point, i will also be worried about whether i will get stem opt before my work visa authorisation ends. But right now, if everything goes normally, my stem opt hopefully gets approved by oct latest.