F-1 Students with majors in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) may be eligible for an extension of their post-completion OPT. Currently, an extension of 17 months may be applied for by the student. On March 11, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will be increasing the extension available to students to 24 months. This ruling will go into effect May 10, 2016 and may be applied for at that time. Students may be approved for the 24 month STEM extension only twice in a lifetime, once at the undergraduate level and once at the graduate level. If the student is already in a 17 month STEM extension OPT period, they may apply for an additional seven months to be added (thus increasing their OPT to the new 24 month extension period).
In order to be eligible for the STEM extension, you must:
In order to apply, you will need to contact your DSO and prepare the following:
While the application is pending, you may continue to work for up to 180 days. If you have any questions about the STEM extension for OPT or need any help during the application process, please contact the Center for Intercultural Engagement and Student Success.
Once approved for STEM OPT, you are required to submit information to your DSO in order to update your SEVIS record. This updating should take place every 6 months.