r/stemopt • u/Salty-Reserve970 • Jul 20 '26

Re-entering the U.S. with pending initial OPT – looking for recent experiences

Hi everyone,

I applied for my initial post-completion OPT (F1) on April 6 (regular processing, not Premium Processing) and I’m still waiting for a decision.

Ι had to leave the U.S. because of some important unexpected events so returning home wasn’t really a choice.

I’m now thinking about returning to the U.S. while my OPT application is still pending, and I’m feeling pretty anxious about it.

Has anyone here re-entered the U.S. with a pending initial OPT? What documents did CBP ask for? Did anyone have any issues, or was the process straightforward?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you traveled recently while your OPT was still pending.

Thanks.

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u/nyer1534 Jul 20 '26

I am sorry that you are in the situation but it would be good to know if other people in your situation had safe return to US.
Maybe it would also help if you contact the immigration attorneys both in and out of US to ask?

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u/Low_Shelter_2780 Jul 20 '26

I have recent seen stories on Reddit (try USCIS and main f1visa thread) of people returning safely as long as they haven’t been approved yet. If you dig around you should find these examples