How OPT and STEM OPT timing works
Post-completion OPT gives F-1 graduates 12 months of work authorization. A STEM-designated degree can add a 24-month STEM extension, for 36 months total. You can apply for initial OPT from 90 days before your program end date up to 60 days after — file later than 60 days and USCIS rejects it. The EAD takes roughly 3–5 months to arrive, and 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 (up to 180 days). The I-765 fee is $410.
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 If the H-1B is denied, withdrawn, revoked, or not selected, cap-gap ends and you get the standard 60-day grace period to depart.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 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 is stated to take effect September 15, 2026.
What changes. F-1 students are admitted for the length of the program up to a 4-year maximum, and the I-94 carries an admit-until date (AUD) set 30 days past the program end date. The period to depart after that date is 30 days, shortened from the 60-day grace period students have now. Staying beyond the AUD requires filing an extension of stay (EOS) — status no longer runs on automatically while you keep studying. Because OPT and STEM OPT normally extend past the AUD, an EOS filing is likely to be needed to stay lawful through those periods.
The date to put in your calendar: March 18, 2027. Under the rule's transition provision, students already in the US whose filing is made on time by March 18, 2027 are treated as not needing a separate EOS. If you are preparing OPT or STEM now, this is the date that decides whether you carry an extra filing — confirm the exact filing and its deadline with your DSO well before it, since missing it may turn a routine OPT application into an OPT-plus-EOS one.
The rule is subject to congressional review, so the September 15, 2026 effective date and the transition terms may still change. Nothing above alters the OPT figures on this page: 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 as of this review. Always confirm current limits and dates with your DSO and on uscis.gov before relying on them.