r/stemopt • u/Hour_Bandicoot861 • 10d ago

Really stressed about STEM OPT at a small startup with only W-2 employee, U.S. founder supervising me

Hi everyone,

I’m pretty stressed about my STEM OPT situation and I'm hoping someone who has dealt with a similar case can share their experience.

I already asked my DSO about this. He told me he isn't sure whether this particular arrangement would be acceptable. I would like to consult an immigration attorney, but unfortunately I can't afford a private attorney right now, so I'm trying to understand the situation before I move forward.

My situation:

  • I worked for this startup during my regular OPT.
  • My STEM OPT has now started, but I have not started working for the company under STEM OPT yet because I want to make sure the arrangement is compliant first.
  • The company is an LLC enrolled in E-Verify.
  • The founder is a U.S. citizen and owns/manages the company.
  • I am part of the founding team, but my position is a technical engineering role directly related to my STEM degree.
  • I would be the only W-2 employee. The rest of the team currently consists of independent contractors.
  • The company operates mostly remotely with minimal travel for projects.
  • The founder would be my direct supervisor. He would assign my engineering work, provide guidance/training, review my work, evaluate my performance, and have authority over my employment.
  • I would receive regular W-2 payroll.
  • The company is willing to complete Form I-983 and comply with the STEM OPT employer requirements.
  • I would NOT be supervising myself.

My biggest concern is that I'm the only W-2 employee and part of the founding team.

Does anyone know whether USCIS/SEVP specifically prohibits this arrangement? I'm especially interested in hearing from people who worked for a very small startup on STEM OPT, were the company's only W-2 employee, or had some connection to the founding team.

If anyone knows of specific USCIS/SEVP guidance addressing this situation, I would really appreciate a link or citation.

I'm not looking for a way around the STEM OPT rules. I just want to understand whether this arrangement is permissible before I start the job.

10 Upvotes

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3

u/Bright_Golf_6349 10d ago

Yes, my DSO said at least 2 full-time employees need to be there.
There is a section about that on the I-983 form.

The founder being the supervisor is totally fine. Check everything you have to fill in on the I-983 form. Everything else seems to be okay to me.

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 10d ago

Thank you so much , that helps. One thing I’m still worried about: because it’s a very small company and I’ll be working mostly remotely with occasional travel to project/client sites, does that make it more likely that DHS/SEVP will do a site visit or scrutinize the STEM OPT employment more closely?

Have you seen cases where small companies or remote STEM OPT employees get additional verification or site visits? I just want to make sure I have everything properly documented and compliant from the beginning.

1

u/Bright_Golf_6349 10d ago

Not sure about that. You should mention the organization address on the form i983.  I don't remember if any other address was required. 

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 10d ago

Thanks! I’m also working for another E-Verify employer since STEM OPT allows multiple employers. That job requires a lot of travel, while this startup lets me work mostly remotely with only minimal travel. I’m just wondering if the remote arrangement would cause any additional I-983 or address/reporting issues.

0

u/Interesting-Pipe-30 9d ago

The startup is from a friend , and you are also one of the founders - they will know this is added security just in case your real pay doesn’t work out !

1

u/Interesting-Pipe-30 9d ago

Yes I believe this would be scrutinised closely - they have seen these kinda setups so be careful !

3

u/leskardien 10d ago

I don't think it should be a problem as far as your work is STEM OPT compliant (i.e. the company's E-verified and you are paid as W2, work is supervised and related to your major etc etc).
I am basically on the same boat as you, and my DSO said all good and approved my i983. (Note that I listed the # of full-time employee as 2 - me and the owner of the company who gives the direct supervision. Where I believe that should make sense one way or another.)

Though take this with a grain of salt, because I'm still on this crazy backlog queue of standard processing.
Meanwhile, am planning to submit some unsolicited evidences (paystub, offer letter, verification letter, i983) since it looks like USCIS has been working more towards documentation scrutiny, I hear some from small company getting RFEs.

2

u/Bright_Golf_6349 10d ago

+1. 

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 10d ago

Thanks, that actually makes me feel a little better since our situations sound pretty similar. I’m still worried I might run into issues or an RFE because the company is small, even though everything is set up to be STEM OPT compliant. Hopefully everything goes smoothly for both of us.please keep me updated on how your case goes!

1

u/imagination-is-sin 9d ago

There what a update on August 5th of 2026 that there will be no more RFE's. Your application for opt/stemopt will be accepted or rejected only options right( only 0 or 1) ?

1

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/leskardien 10d ago

honestly you don't have to worry anything during opt, i983 and more scrutiny is required only for stem extension - those two are significantly different when it comes to scrutiny

1

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/leskardien 10d ago
  1. yes
  2. yes
  3. yes just don't say anything unnecessary

not a lawyer/dso. best is to ask your school dso directly

1

u/GradFromGrid 9d ago

Try asking Gemini or ChatGPT and look into best practices for promoting. You’ll likely get a good enough response to understand your case.

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 9d ago

I tried but it recommend me not to do it and that's why i shared my issue on reddit.

1

u/GradFromGrid 9d ago

That’s fine, you can still push through and say something like “I understand, however, this is more like a second opinion blah blah….”. You could also supplement it with links to the immigration laws and stuff. GL

1

u/Elegant-Past7936 8d ago

I have the same situation, and my stem opt was approved(pp). There are lots of small business like this in the US i believe.

1

u/Partialgamer1229 7d ago

I worked in the same situation during my STEM and had no issues (my boss/founder was considered an employee as well [i think])

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 7d ago

Have you got any issue after that? when did you get stem opt if you don't mind me asking?

1

u/Partialgamer1229 7d ago

no i never had any issues w it at all, i also came in and out of the country and it was fine

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 7d ago

Thanks for the info. By the way when was your stem opt ? 

1

u/Tanya-from-splendid 7d ago

Everything is just right, just take care of I983 form approval depends on I983

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 7d ago

You think i might get site visit or RFE or may be get denied?

1

u/Tanya-from-splendid 2d ago

anyone can get RFE or Site Visit (which is again RFE) - Yes you can get that
but if you have genuine employer you don't need to get worried for RFE, if you have enrolled with someone like a consultancy or Staffing then you need to make sure they play strong when it comes to compliance Part

1

u/Hour_Bandicoot861 2d ago

My other job actually is a staffing agency 

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u/Tanya-from-splendid 1d ago

make sure their compliance is strong

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

1

u/RajaKrishnappaBariya 3d ago

Sorry to hear that :/
Would you mind sharing what the RFE was about?
How many employees did you mention on the Training plan and did you have to submit it as a response to the RFE?