How OPT and STEM OPT timing works
Post-completion OPT gives F-1 graduates 12 months of work authorization (8 CFR 274a.12(c)(3)(i)(B), read with 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)(3)). A STEM-designated degree can add a 24-month STEM extension (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)), for 36 months total — that total is 12 + 24, our arithmetic, not a figure the rule prints. You can apply for initial OPT from 90 days before your program end date up to 30 days after — since September 15, 2026, 8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(B)(2) says the student may file “up to 90 days prior to his or her program end date and no later than 30 days after his or her program end date” (it read 60 days before that date). The same paragraph requires filing within 30 days of the date the DSO enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. 8 CFR 274a.13 sets no deadline for USCIS to decide an initial OPT application, so check the posted Form I-765 time on the USCIS processing-times page and file early in the window. You can only start work after the EAD start date.
The unemployment limit is the silent status-killer
You may be unemployed for a maximum of 90 days during initial OPT. The STEM extension adds 60 more, for a cumulative 150-day cap across both periods. The clock starts on your OPT start date, not when you begin job-hunting, and time spent abroad while unemployed can still count. Cross the limit and SEVIS termination can be automatic — even if it was unintentional. Volunteer or unpaid work of 20+ hours a week (and self-employment on initial OPT) can stop the clock.
The STEM filing window
You apply for the 24-month STEM extension up to 90 days before your initial OPT end date, and the I-765 must reach USCIS no later than your OPT end date. STEM requires an E-Verify-enrolled employer and a signed Form I-983 training plan. If you file on time, you keep working while it's pending even if the EAD lapses — 8 CFR 274a.12(b)(6)(iv) authorises employment from the expiry of the old EAD until USCIS decides, “but not to exceed 180 days”. The I-765 fee is $520 on paper, or $470 filed online under the $50 online filing discount in 8 CFR 106.1(g) (8 CFR 106.2(a)(44)). It is $260 if you filed Form I-485 with a fee after 1 April 2024 and it is still pending; the online discount does not apply to that $260.
Cap-gap: the bridge to H-1B
If your employer files a timely cap-subject H-1B change-of-status petition while your OPT (or grace period) is valid, cap-gap automatically extends your F-1 status — and your work authorization if your OPT was still active — until the H-1B start date (October 1) or April 1, whichever applies. If the H-1B is denied, withdrawn, revoked, or not selected, cap-gap ends and you get the standard 60-day grace period to depart. Cap-gap applies only to cap-subject petitions.
What stops the unemployment clock?
Paid employment of 20+ hours/week, volunteer or unpaid work of 20+ hours/week in your field, and self-employment (initial OPT only, with a real business). The job must relate to your degree. Keep records — USCIS can ask you to prove employment for every period.
2026 rule change: fixed admission periods replace duration of status
On July 17, 2026 DHS published a final rule (Federal Register document 2026-14439, 91 FR 44976) replacing duration of status — the open-ended "admitted for as long as you maintain status" framework — with admission for a fixed period for F, J, and I nonimmigrants. It took effect on September 15, 2026, and the eCFR text of 8 CFR 214.1 and 214.2 carries it from that date.
New admissions. F and J nonimmigrants admitted after that date are admitted until the program completion date in SEVIS, not to exceed four years, plus a 30-day departure period (8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v)); before the rule the departure period was 60 days. Staying beyond the admit-until date requires an extension of stay (EOS) filed with USCIS.
Students already here. If you were properly maintaining F-1 status on duration of status on September 15, 2026, you may stay until the later of your EAD expiration or your I-20 program end date, capped at four years from that date, plus 60 days — November 14, 2030 at the latest (8 CFR 214.1(m)(1)). If you file the I-765 for post-completion OPT or STEM OPT on or before March 18, 2027, you do not need a separate EOS (Form I-539) for that OPT period, and an approved OPT lets you stay until the EAD expires plus 60 days (8 CFR 214.1(m)(1)(i)).
What changed for OPT filing. The initial OPT I-765 must now be filed no later than 30 days after the program end date (8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(B)(2)); it was 60 days before September 15, 2026. The unemployment limits (90 days on initial OPT, 150 cumulative with STEM), the 24-month STEM extension, and the April 1 cap-gap date are unchanged. Confirm your own dates with your DSO.