OPT Application Information

Click on the following link to find the forms and a list of things that must be done to apply for OPT Apply for OPT

Information Regarding OPT

Definition of “Post Completion Optional Practical Training”
The Post Completion Optional Practical Training is designed to provide an opportunity to gain actual employment experience in your chosen profession. Its purpose is to complement your academic work. OPT is considered an extension of your Education and so you are still a student at DBU while you are on OPT. The work may be full-time and may occur anywhere in the United States. 

Student Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to apply for post completion practical training, you should have been:

1. An F-1 student
2. Enrolled in a full course of study continuously for at least 1 academic year
3. Be on the University graduation list
4. The work should be directly related to your major field of study and it should be appropriate for someone with your level of education.  (Note: You do not need to have a specific job offer to apply for post completion optional practical training)
5. Passport must be valid at least 6 MONTHS into the future at the time of filing.

Application Deadline
Graduating students can apply 90 days before graduation, and up to 60 days after graduation.  The application must be received before day 60. 

Application and Authorization Procedure

If the international student advisor (DSO) recommends that you be allowed to participate in post completion optional practical training, an application for an “Employment Authorization Document” (EAD) should be mailed to the TSC office having jurisdiction over the place you are living at that time. 

Authorization may not be rescinded or deferred.  Once authorization to engage in post completion optical practical training is granted, and the EAD is issued.  This means that after post completion optical practical training is authorized by the Texas Service Center (TSC),  inability to find an appropriate job, or loss of a job offer may reduce the time you have available for work. 

Actual Date Practical Training Employment May Begin

You may begin work only after: (1) you have obtained an EAD card from the TSC and (2) from the starting date established on the EAD card. Do not go past the end date. (3) All requirements for the program of study have been met.

You will have to choose a start date for you OPT that begins within 60 days of graduating.

Travel Outside the United States   8 C.F.R. 214.2 (f) (13)

Be sure to consult with the International Office when contemplating travel outside the United States and reentry to continue post completion practical training.  An F-1 student who has an un-expired EAD card issued for post completion optional practical training, and who is otherwise admissible, may return to the United States to resume employment after a period of temporary absence.

Reentry provisions of the regulations require a student in post completion optional practical training to present (1) SEVIS I-20 ID endorsed for reentry by the DSO within the last six months, (2) the “Employment Authorization Document” (EAD), and a letter of release from your employer for travel.  It is good to ask the International Office for a status letter also.  Students who do not meet these requirements may not be allowed to reenter the United States after travel.

Employment Eligibility Verification

When you start work, you and your employer should complete a form entitled “Employment Eligibility Verification” (Form I-9), which the employer retains.

Termination

The practical training automatically terminates when the student transfers to another school,  begins study at another educational level, or the end date is reached.

Also note: You are only granted a total of 90 days of unemployment during your OPT year.

Reporting

While on OPT, you must report the following information to DBU:

1. Change of address, phone number, or email address within 10 days of moving
2. When you being your job, you need to let us know the name and contact information for the company that you will be working for.
3. If your job ends.
4. If you return home.

17 Month STEM Extension
USCIS allows students on OPT to extend their I-20 an additional 17 months if they meet the following requirements

1. Your degree was a STEM degree (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) List of STEM degrees
2. You must currently be working for a company that is in the E-Verify Program

 "Cap-Gap" Extension
If you are applying for the H1-B while on OPT, you may be eligible to continue working during the gap between when your OPT ends and when you begin on the H1-B. The rules are complex, so contact DIAI to ask about this.

OPT Application Information
Apply for OPT

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