By: Stacey Fisher, International Student & Scholar Advisor, UMass Lowell
F-1 international students can apply for Optional Practical Training for 1 year following their degree completion, better known as post-OPT. This allows international students to gain U.S. work experience in their field of study.
In this post, we’ll explain tips for choosing post-OPT dates. Choosing a post-OPT start date can be tricky because it must fall within a 60-day window following degree completion. Some students want to wait until they’ve secured a position to apply for post-OPT while others haven’t begun to look for positions just yet, so what date should you pick?
It is important to carefully consider the date you would like to begin post-OPT so that you can keep your prospective employer informed. This will allow you to provide the employer with a tentative start date to be listed in your offer letter and plan for relocation, if necessary.
Tips to keep in mind:
- The start date must fall in your 60-day grace period following degree completion
- Check a calendar to ensure that your start date does not fall on a weekend or U.S. holiday
- Once you submit your application to USCIS the dates cannot be altered
My one piece of advice regardless of where your search process stands is to apply as early as you can (90 days prior to degree completion) to ensure that your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) can arrive prior to the start date you’ve chosen. This will prevent the USCIS processing time from impacting your start date. As a reminder, you cannot begin working on post-OPT until you have received your EAD and the start date has approached.
If you are an international student that is interested in applying for post-opt, please find more information at www.uml.edu/isso/opt . Premium processing is available for a fee for those that wish to expedite their application with USCIS.