General Information: Employment: Optional Practical Training
Post-Optional Practical Training - After Completion of a Course of Study
To be eligible for post-completion optional practical training you must:
- Have held student status for at least one academic year
- Currently be maintaining valid F-1 status
- Have completed a course of study and submitted your thesis or dissertation
- Intend to work after completion in a job directly related to your course of study
Please note that you do not have to have a job offer before applying for post-completion optional practical training and that you must in any case apply before completion of your studies or 60 days after. Optional practical training must end no later than 14 months from your completion of studies date.
You may have post-completion optional practical training authorized for any period of time that you wish, up to the maximum amount of optional practical training remaining to you at the time of completion. If, for example, you have not previously used any optional practical training, you may have the full 12 months authorized after completion of a course of study. Students are permitted to apply for a period of 12 months post completion OPT following each degree received as long as the degrees are a higher level, ie bachelors to masters and masters to Ph.D. Obtaining two degrees of the same level, such as Master of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration entitles applicant to only one 12 month period of OPT.
Prior use of full-time CPT for one year or more, eliminate eligibility for OPT.
Application and Authorization Procedures:
To apply for optional practical training after completion of a course of study you must come to OISS no more than 90 days before your intended completion of a course of study with the following documents:
- A recommendation form signed by academic advisor and Office of Graduate & professional Education (graduate students only).
- Completed Form I-765 and Form G-1145 .(Please Read the instruction before printing or filling the form)
Note: use OISS address on the I-765 form: c/o OISS, 413 Academy St. Room 151, Newark, DE 19716 - Copies of all Form I-20's page 1 and 3 (including I-20's from other institutions), passport, visa and your I-94 card (back and front).
- A personal check or money order for $380 made payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Two passport type photos.
- Employment letter (if offer has been made).
After you have all of the above, call (302)831-2115 to schedule an appointment with Mary Politakis.
As in the case of pre-completion optional practical training, after reviewing these documents to determine your eligibility for practical training, an adviser at OISS will issue a new Form I-20 recommending the requested period of optional practical training. You will then mail your application to USCIS and they will mail your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to our office. Once you are cleared for graduation, we will contact you to pick up your card.
Please note again that your practical training application is not approved until you have your photo EAD, and that the wait may be as long as 90 days. Any optional practical training employment you have before receiving your EAD is illegal employment that renders you illegally present in the United States.
Please note that the application period for post-completion optional practical training begins 90 days before you complete your program of study or 60 days after. You must apply both to the OISS and USCIS for an Employment Authorization Document within this application period. (USCIS regulations refer to the date you complete all requirements for a program of study, not the date you participate in graduation ceremonies and receive a certificate or diploma. However, for most degree programs at the University of Delaware, we consider the end of term to be the completion date.
90 Days Unemployment Rule and STEM extension application:
F-1 academic students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields (STEM) may seek a one-time extension of their post completion OPT for an additional 17 months. Students granted post-completion OPT and STEM OPT are issued an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which is not employer-specific.
For the STEM extension application, the employer must be e-verified and you will need to provide a copy of your diploma. The rest of the application procedure is the same as the first period of OPT so you will need to contact OISS to apply.
Students on post-completion OPT may not accrue more than 90 days of unemployment in the aggregate. Students on STEM OPT are allowed an additional 30 days of unemployment, so they may not accrue more than 120 days of unemployment in the aggregate. As USCIS has not clarified this regulation, we are not sure about this regulation; however, you could be out of status after 90 days and you may have to reinstate. Please keep accurate records of applications for employment and any interviews.
Replacement EAD:
An application for a replacement EAD is filed if a card has been lost, stolen, or mutilated, or when the previously issued card contains erroneous information, such as a misspelled name or name change. If an application for a replacement EAD is approved, the replacement EAD will have the same dates and category as the EAD that was lost, stolen, etc.
Persons applying for replacement documents can present the receipt for the I-765 as evidence of employment eligibility but must produce a valid card within 90 days of showing the receipt.
To apply for a replacement card you will need to resubmit all the documents previously submitted for OPT along with the approval notice if available.
