Visas
OPT and the STEM extension, explained
In short
Optional Practical Training gives up to twelve months of work authorisation at each higher level of study, and any time used before graduation is deducted from the post-completion period. A one-time twenty-four-month STEM extension is available for an eligible degree with an E-Verify employer and a Form I-983 training plan. Unemployment is capped at 90 days on OPT and 150 days in total with the extension.
OPT is the reason many Indian students choose the United States, and it is also the part of the system with the most moving pieces: dates, counters and a rule change in 2026 that affects how long you are admitted for.
What follows is the official position. Your designated school official administers the record this runs on, and they are the person to confirm your own dates with.
The two periods
Standard OPT is up to twelve months, available at each higher educational level, and may be used before or after completing studies. Time used before completion is subtracted from what remains afterwards.
The STEM extension adds twenty-four months, once. It requires a degree at bachelor's, master's or doctoral level in an eligible field earned within the previous ten years, a school that is SEVP-certified and accredited, an employer enrolled in E-Verify, and a Form I-983 training plan.
Eligible fields come from an official list keyed to the Department of Education's classification of instructional programs, covering engineering, biological and biomedical sciences, mathematics and statistics, and physical sciences, plus related fields listed individually.
The counters that end an OPT period
Unemployment is capped: 90 days during post-completion OPT, and 150 days in total once the STEM extension is included. The days are cumulative across the period, not per spell.
Filing windows are equally unforgiving. The application goes to USCIS within 30 days of your school official's recommendation in the record. Post-completion OPT can be filed up to 90 days before you finish and no later than 60 days after. The STEM extension can be filed up to 90 days before your OPT expires, and a timely filing carries an automatic 180-day extension while it is pending.
What CPT does to your OPT
Curricular practical training is authorised by your school rather than USCIS, and it is tied to a training position integral to your programme. The trap is cumulative: twelve months or more of full-time CPT makes you ineligible for OPT at that educational level. Part-time CPT does not have that effect.
We cover the detail, including the one-academic-year rule and the graduate-programme exception, in the CPT rules.
The 2026 change that affects OPT timing
Since 15 September 2026, F-1 students are admitted for a fixed period rather than duration of status. Post-completion OPT or a STEM extension that runs past your admitted period now requires an extension of stay filed with USCIS, unless you filed in time under the rule's transition deadline.
That is a scheduling change more than a substantive one, but it is the sort of scheduling change that ends a status if missed. The detail is in our piece on the end of duration of status.
Related questions
Can I do OPT twice?
Up to twelve months is available at each higher educational level. A master's after a bachelor's gives a fresh twelve months; a second master's at the same level does not.
Does my employer have to be in E-Verify for standard OPT?
No. E-Verify enrolment is a requirement for the STEM extension, not for the initial twelve months.
What counts as unemployment?
Days without qualifying employment during the authorised period, counted cumulatively: 90 days on post-completion OPT and 150 days in total including the STEM extension. Your school official tracks this in the record.