OPT application planning checklist

Start with your DSO, confirm your eligibility and filing window, obtain an OPT-recommended I-20, then file Form I-765 with USCIS. A school recommendation or pending application alone does not authorize you to start working.

General educational information, not individualized legal advice. Confirm current requirements with your DSO and official sources.

Before requesting your OPT recommendation

  • Confirm your program completion date with your DSO; graduation ceremony dates are not necessarily the program end date.
  • Ask the DSO to check your enrollment history, prior OPT and CPT, and remaining eligibility. Twelve months or more of full-time CPT generally makes you ineligible for OPT at that educational level.
  • Discuss a requested OPT start date and your job-search plans. Do not promise an employer a start date based only on an estimated processing time.

Plan the filing window

  • For initial post-completion OPT, USCIS generally permits filing up to 90 days before program completion and no later than 60 days after completion.
  • USCIS must also receive the application within 30 days after the DSO enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS. Both deadlines matter; a school submission is not a USCIS filing.
  • Ask when the school can issue the recommended I-20, check its details, and sign it. If the recommendation becomes too old, contact the DSO before filing.

Prepare and submit the application

  • Use the current Form I-765 instructions to confirm category (c)(3)(B), filing method, evidence, photo specifications and fee. Do not rely on an old fee quoted in a blog.
  • Gather the recommended I-20, passport and immigration records, I-94, photos and prior EADs as applicable. Follow the official evidence list for your circumstances.
  • Check names, dates, SEVIS number and mailing address. Keep a complete copy and the USCIS receipt; make a plan to receive mail and respond to requests for evidence.

After filing

  • Track the case and keep your address current with USCIS and your school. Ask the DSO before travel, school transfer or changing educational level.
  • For initial OPT, wait for approval, receipt of the EAD and the authorized start date before working.
  • Plan for employment related to your major, reporting obligations and the 90-day unemployment limit for initial post-completion OPT. Confirm how your DSO expects you to report changes.

Official sources

Next step

Check your USCIS case status

After receiving a receipt number, use the official case-status tool. A receipt is not permission to work.

What you can find here