We encourage students to watch the STEM OPT Video Series about the STEM OPT Extension to learn more about the benefit of their F-1 visa.
You can request your STEM OPT Extension I-20 from ISS as early as 90 days before your current 12-month OPT Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Card expiration date. USCIS must receive your STEM OPT extension application before your current 12-month OPT EAD Card expiration date.
Students must request a STEM OPT I-20 from UW ISS BEFORE applying for STEM OPT with USCIS.
The request is made via your profile in MyISSS.
NOTE: The STEM OPT Extension I-20 request option is not accessible until 100 days before your 12-month OPT expires.
Request STEM OPT Extension I-20 through MyISSS.
You MUST receive a signed OPT I-20 showing the STEM OPT recommendation from a DSO BEFORE submitting your OPT application to USCIS.
You are automatically granted a 6-month extension as soon as you receive a receipt for your STEM OPT Extension application from UCSIS, meaning that you can continue working as soon as USCIS has received your STEM OPT extension application.
ISS no longer reviews I-765s for students, but we do have guides for students to use when applying with USCIS.
Your work authorization is automatically extended for up to 180 days while the 24-month STEM OPT extension application is pending. The USCIS receipt notice is documentation of the extended authorization. You can travel during your pending or approved STEM OPT extension period.
If your employer needs information about what documents to collect as proof of extended work authorization, please refer to them to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services I-9 Central
You can change employers while your 24-month STEM OPT extension application is pending with USCIS.
If you change employers, report the change to ISS through the ‘Report New Employment’ request via the MyISSS portal. In the “comments” section, explain that your STEM OPT extension application is still pending with USCIS. Regulations state that employment changes must be reported within 10 days.
Your ISS adviser will provide a copy of an updated I-20 directly to USCIS.
If you receive a “Request for Evidence” (RFE), returned application, or denied application, notify ISS immediately. Contact ISS immediately. It may be necessary for ISS to provide a new I-20 before you can respond to the USCIS inquiry or resubmit your STEM OPT application.
Submit a STEM OPT Validation Report through MyISSS.
While on STEM OPT, you must report any change in employment within 10 days of the change.
Report Your Change in Employment through MyISSS.
The government has new guidance about acceptable types of activity during the 24-month STEM Extension that is substantially different than the past guidance for the STEM Extension. All employers must be part of the e-Verify program.
Multiple Employers
You can work for multiple employers as long as:
Start-Ups
The Department of Homeland Security has also commented that students may be employed by new start-up businesses as long as all regulatory requirements are met, including that the employer:
Self-Employment, Work for Hire, and Employment through Agencies/Consulting Firms
The government has commented:
“There are several aspects of the STEM OPT extension that do not make it apt for certain types of arrangements, including multiple employer arrangements, sole proprietorships, employment through ‘temp’ agencies, employment through consulting firm arrangements that provide labor for hire, and other relationships that do not constitute a bona fide employer-employee relationship… Accordingly, DHS clarifies that students cannot qualify for STEM OPT extensions unless they will be bona fide employees of the employer signing the (I-983) Training Plan, and the employer that signs the (I-983) Training Plan must be the same entity that employs the student and provides the practical training experience.”
“Additionally, guidance from the USCIS states: (3rd parties)…may not, however, assign or contract out students to work for one of their customers or clients, and assign, or otherwise delegate, their training responsibilities to the customer or client.”
Volunteer and Uncompensated Activity
The government has commented:
“DHS carefully considered whether to allow volunteer positions to qualify under the STEM OPT extension program but has decided against permitting such arrangements. … Requiring commensurate compensation for F-1 students — which does not include no compensation — protects both international and domestic students and ensures that the qualifying STEM positions are substantive opportunities. . . .”
f you believe your STEM OPT employer is not complying with the terms and conditions of the 24-month STEM OPT extension regulations, the Form I-983 instructions, and the completed Form I-983 on file with ISS, you may:
What happens if your EAD card has incorrect information on it?
Sometimes students lose their EAD cards either in the process of receiving it or later on. Your EAD is the official document that allows you to work on OPT or STEM OPT so you should take action to get a replacement if it is lost.
If your EAD is lost in the mail:
If you lose your EAD card:
Students who do not exceed 150 days of unemployment and report employment to the ISS as required are automatically granted a 60-day grace period after the end date listed on the EAD.
Within this 60-day grace period, you have the following options: