Working in the US after graduation: OPT and STEM OPT explained

On campus, no more than 20 hours a week while school is in session. Off-campus work is not allowed by default. It needs CPT or OPT, or, in rare cases, authorisation for severe economic hardship after your first academic year. Hardship work needs a DSO recommendation and an approved I-765, and you cannot start while it is pending.

Working without authorisation puts your status at risk, so check with your DSO before accepting anything off campus, including freelance or remote work for a company at home.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is work that is an integral part of your curriculum, such as a required internship or co-op. You can normally use it after one full academic year, unless your graduate programme requires it immediately. Your DSO authorises it in SEVIS, not USCIS. CPT can be full time. The catch: one year or more of full-time CPT makes you ineligible for post-completion OPT, so track your months.

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is work directly related to your field of study, authorised by USCIS on an EAD. You get 12 months at each education level, so a bachelor’s and later a master’s give you two separate periods. You can use part of it before graduation (pre-completion, limited to 20 hours a week during term), but most students save it all for after.

You can file up to 90 days before your programme end date and no later than 60 days after it. You must also file within 30 days of your DSO entering the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. The fee is $470 online or $520 on paper under the current fee schedule. You may not start work until three things are true: USCIS has approved the I-765, you have the EAD card, and its start date has arrived.

File early in the window. You do not need a job offer to apply, and approval takes time you can use for the search. You may be unemployed for up to 90 days in total during OPT, and any job must be at least 20 hours a week and directly related to your degree.

DHS published a final rule on 17 July 2026 that replaces “duration of status” for F students with a fixed admission period from 15 September 2026. New F students will be admitted up to the programme length on their I-20, to a maximum of four years, plus 30 days to arrive and 30 days to depart. The grace period after you finish your programme, OPT or STEM OPT falls from 60 days to 30.

The rule does not abolish OPT or STEM OPT, but it adds a step. If your OPT or STEM OPT runs past your “admit until” date, you must file an extension of stay (Form I-539) with USCIS at the same time as your employment authorisation, or leave and be readmitted. There is transition relief: students admitted before 15 September 2026 who file on time for OPT or STEM OPT by 18 March 2027 do not need a separate extension of stay. Students in the US on 15 September 2026 may generally stay to their programme end date, up to 14 November 2030.

Ask your DSO how your I-20 dates interact with your planned OPT. This is new, and schools are still issuing guidance.

If your degree is on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List and comes from an accredited US school, you can add 24 months to post-completion OPT. Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and complete Form I-983, a training plan, with you. File up to 90 days before your current OPT EAD expires and within 60 days of your DSO’s recommendation. If you file on time and your OPT expires while the case is pending, your work authorisation is automatically extended for 180 days.

STEM OPT adds 60 unemployment days to the original 90, for 150 in total across the whole OPT period. In practice it gives you up to three years of work and several chances at the H-1B selection. If your current OPT is based on a non-STEM degree, you may be able to use an earlier STEM degree from an accredited US institution instead.

Most employers need an H-1B to keep you after OPT. They register you during the March window. From FY 2027, selection is weighted by the Department of Labor wage level of your offer: a Level IV salary is entered four times, a Level I salary once. Holders of a US master’s degree or higher also have a separate allocation of 20,000 on top of the regular 65,000.

If your employer is a university, an affiliated nonprofit or a nonprofit research organisation, it is cap-exempt and can file at any time. For researchers, that is often the safer route. If you are selected, cap-gap extends your F-1 status and work authorisation until 1 April of the fiscal year, or the petition start date if earlier. That bridges the gap to an H-1B start on 1 October. Our US work visa guide covers the fee changes and the other routes, including the O-1.

Start with your university careers centre and its job platform. Employers who post there have chosen to recruit at your school, and staff often know which ones hire international students. Go to career fairs in your first and second years, not just your final one: internships through CPT are the most common route to a return offer.

Tell employers early and plainly what you need. On OPT, say you are authorised to work for 12 months (or up to 36 with STEM) and that no visa petition is needed for you to start. Our first job after graduation guide covers the search, and the internship resume example shows a one-page student layout.