How and When to OPT for Pre and Post Completion OPT

The United States government keeps a check on the international students through its organization called SEVIS. This is a program that belongs to the department of US immigration and customs enforcement.

Applying for Pre Completion OPT

·   The details of all entrants into the US including international students are recorded in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System or SEVIS. The academic status of all the students is recorded by this system. When you become eligible as an OPT candidates, your Designated School Official or DSO will recommend you for Pre-completion OPT in the SEVIS records.

·         Once this is done you can apply for pre completion OPT. The right times to apply for this program is 90 days before you complete one full academic year, which is the requirement for pre completion OPT. However, the OPT program will begin only when you complete one academic year.

·         Apart from the application, you are also required to submit a Form l – 765 and avail an Employment Authorization Document or EAD. This is necessary in order to ask for permission to work in the country as an international student who has not yet completed their academic studies. Once you avail your EAD card you will become eligible for working in the United States.

·         You will also get a social security number or SSN when your application as OPT candidates in USA is approved.

You can work full time once you complete your studies and post completion OPT is the answer to your question of how you can do it. An application for post completion part time or full time work in the United States will be approved if you have completed your graduate studies in the US.

Applying for Post Completion OPT

·         When you are about to complete your degree course in the United States, you should start considering applying for post completion OPT if you intend to stay on in the US and work after completing your studies. In almost every university or college there is a department dedicated to international student services available. The officials in this department of your college or university will guide you through the application process. Always bear in mind that the USA welcomes international students who want to work under the OPT system. Thousands of international students have succeeded in this process and so can you.

·         For post completion OPT you will need to apply within 30 days of the time when your DSO submits the recommendation and enters it into the SEVIS record created on you. This is also when you should opt for an OPT candidates resume database in the US.

·         You should try and apply early, but the earliest you can apply is 90 days before you are about to complete your studies. Of course, you need to pass your university or college final examination before you will be granted post completion OPT permission. Instead of applying before completing your studies you can also apply within 60 days of completing them. Keep these time lines in mind when you apply for post completion OPT.

·         If you want to work under the post completion OPT program in the US, then it is mandatory to submit form l-765 and get your EAD card. It usually takes anywhere from 3 to 5 months for the USCIS to issue the OPT EAD and hence you should plan your application accordingly.

·         Here the international students who have a STEM degree, you will be allowed to avail a 24 month extension to your OPT duration. However you need to make sure to apply before the current OPT authorization reaches its expiration date. Here you need to bear in mind that you can apply only as early as 90 days before your expiration date.

OPT candidates who are degree holders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics are given higher perks in the United States. You can apply for a 2-year extension of your Post-completion Optional Practical Training if you have a degree in STEM disciplines from any of the recognized degree courses. If you obtain a degree in any of the accepted STEM courses, you will be able to work in the United States for a total of three years.

Conclusion

Hence, we can see that the entire OPT procedure for international students is quite friendly and encourages the international students to be part of the US work force and provide the country, benefit of the education that they have gained here.