Under U.S. immigration law, Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a type of temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major area of study. Under OPT, students can apply to receive up to 12 months of OPT employment authorization before completing their academic studies (pre-completion) and/or after completing their academic studies (post-completion). Students who majored in STEM fields may be eligible for an additional period of OPT extension. In this article, we will go in depth on what the types of OPTs are, their requirements, and timelines to apply.
Types of OPT
All OPT must be directly related to your major area of study. If you are an F-1 student, you may be eligible to participate in OPT in two different ways:
- Pre-completion OPT: You may apply to participate in pre-completion OPT after you have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis for one full academic year at a college, university, conservatory, or seminary that has been certified by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to enroll F-1 students. You do not need to have had F-1 status for the one full academic year; you can satisfy the “one full academic year” requirement even if you had another nonimmigrant status during that time.
