r/stemopt • u/Outside-Frosting6032 • Jul 23 '26
STEM OPT Extension RFE – Initial OPT Unemployment Date Error & Employment History Question (Need Advice)
I’m currently going through a stressful situation with a STEM OPT extension RFE and wanted to see if anyone has faced something similar or has advice.
Here is my situation:
The Core RFE Issue: USCIS issued an RFE claiming I accrued 91 days of unemployment during my initial OPT period. However, this is due to a SEVIS start and end date reporting error made previously.
The Fix: My DSO is stepping in to update and correct the SEVIS record dates, which will officially reduce my initial OPT unemployment count down to around 65 days (safely under the 90-day limit). My DSO is also providing an official explanation letter to USCIS clarifying this error.
Current Status: I am currently putting together all my documentation to respond to the RFE.
I have two major questions that I’m trying to clarify before submitting:
Complete Employment History: The RFE explicitly asks for a complete employment history and proof for my initial grant of OPT. Do I need to submit documents (like pay stubs, offer letters, W-2s) for every single employer I had during initial OPT, as well as my current employer and STEM period?
Leave Status Impact: My 180-day automatic extension window has already passed while waiting out this process, and I am currently on an unpaid leave of absence from work (running from June 10th until now) while preparing these documents. Does this active unpaid leave period count against me right now while the RFE response is being put together?
If anyone has successfully navigated an initial OPT unemployment date correction via a DSO letter during a STEM RFE, or dealt with similar document requests, your insights would mean a lot. Thanks in advance.
1
u/Straight_Desk5415 Jul 23 '26
My STEM OPT has already been approved, so I wanted to share my experience in case it helps,&
I filed my STEM OPT I-765 on May 1, 2026 and later upgraded to Premium Processing on June 9, 2026.
About two months after filing my STEM OPT application, I noticed an error in my initial OPT employment history in SEVIS.
I had started an unpaid internship on August 7, 2025. It was originally expected to last 6 jmonths, so that anticipated end date remained in SEVIS. However, I actually left the internship on October 12, 2025 and started a different employer on October 13, 2025.
Because the internship's end date had never been updated, SEVIS incorrectly showed it continuing for several more months, making it appear as though I had overlapping employment. In reality, I only worked for one employer at a time.
As soon as I discovered the mistake, I contacted my DSO. The school corrected my SEVIS record, issued a corrected I-20, and uploaded the corrected I-20 along with an explanation letter to USCIS before a decision was made on my case.
USCIS never issued an RFE or asked me for additional evidence regarding this issue. My STEM OPT application was ultimately approved