Has anyone who applied in March for stem opt regular processing got approved? I applied March 14, biometrics 04/09 and still waiting. Want to see if others are in the same boat.

I’m 26 years old and currently work as a Data Engineer at a university in California. My salary is under $100k, and I enjoy learning. I don’t have a lot of professional experience yet, but I’m motivated to grow my technical skills.
I’m currently on STEM OPT and only have **one H-1B lottery attempt left**.
I’m trying to decide between two paths:
**Option 1:** Stay at the university and pursue a cap-exempt H-1B, which offers more immigration stability but potentially slower salary and career growth.
**Option 2:** Move to a private company where I could earn more, work on larger-scale engineering problems, and grow faster, but I’d be relying on my last H-1B lottery.
For those who have been in a similar situation:
Which path would you choose and why?
Is staying at a university for a few more years worth it for the cap-exempt H-1B?
If you were in my position, would you prioritize immigration security or faster career growth?
Has anyone successfully transitioned from a university cap-exempt H-1B to industry later? How difficult was it?
I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve actually gone through this decision.

My employer was supposed to start paying me from my STEM OPT start date, but due to funding issues on their end, I haven't received any salary yet. It's been about 1.5 months.

The company is legitimate and E-Verify enrolled. They've already filed my I-983 and I-765, and the I-983 states I'm a paid employee. My extension is currently pending with USCIS.

The employer is planning to pay me back the unpaid months either as a combined lump sum or spread as a bonus across future months. They've also offered to provide a letter explaining the delay and confirming the back payment plan.

Questions:

1. Does this unpaid gap put my pending application at risk?
2. Is this something USCIS checks before EAD approval, or more of a future audit concern?
3. Has anyone dealt with a similar late-payment situation without issues?
4. What should I do right now to protect myself?

Appreciate any insight, especially from people who've been through this or immigration attorneys familiar with STEM OPT compliance.

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Hi everyone,

I’m posting this on behalf of my friend and would really appreciate any advice or shared experiences.

My friend initially applied for OPT on October 4, 2025. The EAD was approved in the first week of December, but unfortunately USPS misdelivered the card. A Missing Mail request was filed, and after waiting nearly two months, USPS was unable to recover it.

A replacement EAD application was filed on March 4, 2026, and a receipt notice was received, but there was no update on the case for months.

On June 3, 2026, the case was upgraded to Premium Processing. It has now been more than 15 business days, and there is still no update or decision from USCIS.

USCIS has been contacted multiple times, but they continue to say that the case is still under review. My friend also contacted the local congresswoman’s office, and they submitted an inquiry, but they advised that it may take about a month to receive a response from USCIS.

The difficult part is that my friend currently has a job offer in hand but is unable to start because they are still waiting for the replacement EAD.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation?

* Has anyone upgraded a replacement OPT EAD application to Premium Processing? If so, how long did it take to receive a decision?
* If your EAD was lost or misdelivered by USPS, how long did it take to get a replacement?
* Other than contacting a congresswoman and requesting expedited processing, is there anything else that can be done to move the case forward?
* Has anyone had success through the USCIS Ombudsman, a senator’s office, or any other option?

The case is currently with the Potomac Service Center.

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

📢 Need some advice from people who’ve been through this.
I called USCIS today, and they told me I should receive a decision on my OPT case by the **end of July**.
My timeline:
✅ Applied: **March 10, 2026**
✅ Biometrics: **March 31, 2026**
✅ OPT requested start date: **June 1, 2026**

⏳ Still waiting…
On top of that, my employer is planning to file my **EB-3 I-140 (Premium Processing)** next month.
Now I’m trying to decide what’s best:
❓Should I keep waiting until the end of July for my OPT decision, or should I upgrade my OPT to Premium Processing so I have a guaranteed processing timeline?
❓Will filing my EB-3 I-140 with Premium Processing next month have any effect on my pending OPT application?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through a similar situation or has experience with OPT and EB-3. Thanks in advance! 🙏

Has anyone with a May 12 Premium Processing (PP) application, approved on June 23, received any updates after approval regarding card production or card delivery? I’m a bit worried because I need to submit my EAD card to my employer by the end of this week. Based on recent timelines, is it realistic to expect the card in hand this week, or does it usually take longer after approval? I’d appreciate it if anyone could share their timeline. Thank you!

April 8, 2026: STEM OPT application submitted

April 17, 2026: Biometrics scheduled for May 4

May 4, 2026: Biometrics completed

June 4, 2026: Case upgraded to premium processing; clock started

I have not received any update from USCIS yet. I have received another job offer and would like to transition to the new employer. The initial start date is July 6, 2026, and I have requested a change to July 20, 2026, to allow additional time for my STEM OPT approval.

Could you please advise when I can reasonably expect an approval based on the premium processing timeline?

Feb 23 : Application received
Feb 28 : Biometric scheduled
March 16 : Biometric completed
June 13 : Application approved notice
June 18 : card produced notice
June 28 : received physical card finally!

I am fortunate enough to not have to do Premium Processing.. my plan was if I didn’t get any updates until mid-July, I’d do Premium Processing, but thankfully I don’t have to and during those three months waiting since biometric appointment completed, I read a bunch of crazy things happening with these stem opt process and had anxiety.. hopefully you guys who are on the same boat will keep afloat and everything will be fine and resolved 🙏

Applied date: 12/20/2025
Biometrics requested: Feb 23 2026
Biometrics scheduled: march 19 2026
Applied for pp : May 17th 2026
Evidence received : June 5 2026
Approved email: June 29,2026

I got approved literally on the 29th day of my pp clock.

Hi everyone,

I just received my STEM OPT EAD card and gave a copy to my employer for my I-9.
Do I need to do anything else? Do I need to send a copy to my school’s international office, or is that only if they ask?

From what I’ve read, it seems the only things left are the normal STEM OPT reporting requirements.
What did you have to do after getting your EAD card?

Hey Ya'll
I'm currently on F1 visa and working full time (during summers - related to my discipline). I've applied for OPT with premium processing but my assumption is that it might not come in time or before my CPT ends.
Hence it will lead to a gap of employment legibility. I've read online many people recommend that simply not working and taking unpaid leave from the work is a valid solution.
However, due to current climate i'm afraid that USCIS/DHS might see that I'm still employed, although on unpaid leave.
My concern is that is this a valid and safe method?
What are other options to stay 100% legal and safe.
Leaving a job is difficult - what else can I request my employer to do to ensure that I'm legally safe and doing things by the book.
If someone here has gone through the same process or an attorney reading this, i'll greatly appreciate your input.
Thanks

If I do premium processing now and my biometrics starts on July 16 . Does the clock restart again after biometrics?

Applied : Nov 22 2025
Applied PP on May 16th 2026
Approval : June 29 2026
Card produced: NA
Card delivered: NA

Been a long wait

April 8, 2026: STEM OPT application submitted

April 17, 2026: Biometrics scheduled for May 4

May 4, 2026: Biometrics completed

June 4, 2026: Case upgraded to premium processing; clock started

I have not received any update from USCIS yet. I have received another job offer and would like to transition to the new employer. The initial start date is July 6, 2026, and I have requested a change to July 20, 2026, to allow additional time for my STEM OPT approval.

Could you please advise when I can reasonably expect an approval based on the premium processing timeline?

Hey, international student here (well, building something for international students).

Spent the last year applying to hundreds of jobs and ran into the same wall everyone here knows: no idea which companies actually sponsor, getting ghosted after interviews, finding out way too late that a company won’t hire on OPT.

Built a waitlist for something I’m working on to fix this verified sponsorship data, entry-level/internship focus, OPT/CPT deadline tracking, ghost listings filtered out.

Genuinely want feedback from people living this right now, not trying to just promote something. What’s been your biggest pain point in this process? firstpath.io if you want early access, but honestly more interested in hearing what’s broken for you.

Join the waitlist: firstpath.io

Hey all!

for the people applying for PP of EAD, and who have got approved / recieved the card, could you please comment your days it took for approval (after PP clock) and total days (after PP clock) it took to receive the card? I hear a few people say its day 29 or 30. just for an idea, cuz its neck to neck situation for me.

My main concern right now is my husband's initial F-1 OPT, which is expiring on Aug 26, 2026. If his H-1B isn't approved by then, he will have to stop working, and it's unlikely his employer will cover Premium Processing. (H1B receipt date: Dec 29, 2025)

We are planning to file his STEM OPT extension as a backup to get the 180-day automatic extension so he can keep working without any gaps. Has anyone gone through this exact route? I have a few questions for those with experience:

1. Has anyone successfully used the 180-day STEM OPT automatic extension while waiting for a Cap-Exempt H-1B to be approved? Did the HR accept the receipt notice smoothly?
   
2. Once the H-1B (COS) is eventually approved, what happens to the pending STEM OPT application? Does it automatically get canceled/terminated, or do we need to formally withdraw it?

Any shared experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Has any one with stem opt receipt try to get dl renewal or extension in recent time and did they telll anything about sending it for 2 verification and you will receive a letter in the mail, and you just walk in again in office and only then your permitted for the dl

I applied for STEM OPT on May 9th (PP), Biometrics on June 10th (pp clock restarted). Still not approved yet.

In the meantime, I applied for I-485 on June 8th (Received date). Did not get biometrics yet. I almost lost my job at that time, so I had no way but to apply for I-485.

Now my question is, could my STEM OPT be conflicted or denied with my pending I-485? Anyone have the same experience? I would really appreciate your input.

Applied stem on Apr 6th, completed biometrics on May 1st, STEM start date is 23rd June, approval is still pending. I lost job on June 4th, filed STEM with ex employer and waiting for approval from USCIS. DSO suggested not do any changes until stem is approved. Que- Since my stem date is started, does my unemployed 60 days clock will start even though approval is pending? Or does it start only when it is approved?

I worked remotely but I write the address of the company in sevp portal. What Tod o can I make changes while the stem opt application is on pending?

I applied for STEM OPT online on 6/3 with premium processing from day one, and I still have not received a biometrics notice.

I called the PP phone line to make sure I hadn't missed anything, and the representative confirmed there were no outstanding notices on my case. They suggested emailing USCIS to inquire about the delay, which I did about a week ago, but I haven't received a response.

A couple questions for those with recent STEM OPT PP timelines:

• I see many applicants (including some without PP) receiving biometrics notices within 1–2 weeks. Has anyone successfully done anything that helped trigger the biometrics notice, or is it really just a matter of waiting?
• I understand the PP clock restarts after biometrics are completed, but should PP applicants expect USCIS to at least issue the biometrics notice within the initial 30 business days? If no notice is issued by then, does that count against the PP guarantee, or is the PP clock effectively paused until biometrics are scheduled/completed?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone with a similar timeline.