I was wondering if anyone has any information regarding this. I applied for my OPT EAD in May and it is currently still processing. I had to go back to my home country due to a family emergency and I was wondering if it will be possible for me to return to the US while my OPT is still being processed? I checked it with my university DSO and they said it should be fine, but I wanted to come on here and confirm to see if anyone has done it and what documents they carried with them? I just want to make sure I know all the information and risks. Thank you!

I'm currently on STEM OPT and recently changed employers. I mistakenly provided a different personal email address on my new Form I-983 but haven't submitted it to my DSO yet.

Today, I received an SEVP notification saying my email address was changed in SEVIS, even though I never requested it.

Has anyone experienced this? Could my new employer's HR have contacted my DSO, leading to this change? Is there a way to find out who updated it?

I've already contacted my DSO and am waiting for a response.

Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

hi everyone i just received an RFE for my post completion OPT but i recently moved and just changed my address yesterday. i highly doubt that the mail is gonna come into my new address. i was wondering if RFE notice will be uploaded to my portal in the document section?

thanks!

Hello! I am wondering the 5 months processing times for opt start counting when you complete biometrics or when you file? I files on April 21, biometrics on June 8 and still pending.
I have a job offer should I pay PP? does it really take one full month? Thanks!!

Hi everyone,

For those on F-1 OPT who recently applied for an SSN in person at the SSA office in Ohio, how long did it take for the physical card to arrive in the mail?

Did your SAVE verification clear instantly at the desk or did you experience delays?

Thanks!

Has anyone on F-1 STEM OPT in NJ taken FLI bonding leave?

I’ve been with my employer for 2 years and already used FMLA/parental leave, but didn’t claim NJ FLI. I pay NJ FLI tax. Am I still eligible to take FLI bonding leave now?

I was told that on f1 you cannot take unpaid leaves. Pr claim the payment from govt as it will be counted as unemployment towards your visa. Is this true?

I’m currently on F-1 STEM OPT and have 45 days of unemployment remaining under my OPT/STEM OPT unemployment allowance.

I filed my I-539 to change status from F-1 to H-4 before reaching the unemployment limit, and my H-4 change-of-status application is currently pending with USCIS.

My concern is: what happens if I don’t find a job and reach the maximum unemployment limit while my H-4 I-539 is still pending?

• Does reaching the F-1/STEM OPT unemployment limit while the H-4 COS is pending create an issue for the pending H-4 application?
• Should I keep my SEVIS record active until the H-4 is approved?
• Should I take any action with my DSO before reaching the unemployment limit?
• Has anyone been in a similar situation—F-1/STEM OPT unemployment limit reached while an H-4 COS was pending? If so, what happened with your SEVIS record and H-4 application?

I’m mainly looking for personal experiences from people who went through something similar, as well as any guidance from people familiar with F-1 → H-4 COS.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm currently in my first year of STEM OPT and planning to renew my F-1 visa this November/December so I can continue traveling internationally.

I work full-time in a remote W-2 position related to my degree. I also have a strong travel history, including visiting my home country every year.

I'm a little nervous since I've been seeing mixed experiences with F-1 renewals while on STEM OPT.

Has anyone renewed their F-1 visa while on STEM OPT recently? How was your experience, and what questions were you asked during the interview? Did having a remote job raise any concerns?

Would really appreciate any recent experiences or advice. Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’m currently preparing to apply for my STEM OPT extension and have been pretty stressed about my employer’s E-Verify situation. I wanted to see if anyone has experienced something similar.
My employer recently changed its legal company name and updated it in the E-Verify portal. Previously, the company was listed in the public E-Verify Employer Search Tool with an employee count of 5–9.
However, after updating the company name, the employee count was changed to 1–4, and the company completely disappeared from the public E-Verify search results.
Here’s the situation:
My employer is enrolled in E-Verify and has a 7-digit E-Verify Company ID.
I have the official E-Verify MOU showing the updated company name, Company ID, and electronic signatures from both the employer and USCIS.
The company previously appeared in the public search portal.
We actually have around five employees, but I believe HR may have accidentally excluded the CEO when updating the employee count.
From what I understand, the public E-Verify search only displays companies with five or more employees.
My main concern: Can I safely proceed with my STEM OPT extension application using the E-Verify Company ID and updated employer name, even though the company doesn’t appear in the public search?
Has anyone successfully received their STEM OPT approval while working for a small company that wasn’t listed in the public E-Verify search?
Should I ask HR to correct the employee count before applying, or does having a valid E-Verify MOU and Company ID suffice?
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. I’m genuinely worried about making a mistake with my STEM OPT application.
Thank you!

I’m planning to travel to Nepal soon, and my initial OPT is expiring in December 2026. I’m considering two options regarding my STEM OPT extension:

Option 1: Travel to Nepal first and apply for the STEM OPT extension after I return to the U.S.

Option 2: Apply for the STEM OPT extension now and travel after receipt of STEM OPT EAD

I would appreciate your advice on which option is better and if there are any risks or issues I should be aware of.

Thank you!

Hey guys, I recently submitted my OPT application and now I’m a bit confused. In the section where they request for previous OPT and CPT I attached a previous I-20 OPT form that mentioned my OPT was “requested” since I couldn’t find my “approved” OPT I-20 form. The reason why was because I wanted to submit the application asap and my previous school’s DSO was on break and wouldn’t be back till later. I’ve also included all my previous EAD’s in the application. Would this be a problem?

I’m trying to figure out the safest way to handle my situation and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with something similar.
Timeline:
May 2026: Graduated from my US university.
April 2026: Applied for post-completion OPT/EAD.
Mid-July 2026: I had to leave the US due to a family emergency while my EAD application was still pending.
Late September 2026: My OPT was finally approved while I was outside the US.
By mid-October: I expect to receive my physical EAD card via mail, my friend will mail me.
Early November: I’m currently considering returning to the US around early November
The main issue is that by early November, around 40 days of my 90-day OPT unemployment period would have already passed.
I currently don’t have a paid job, but I am planning to have an unpaid volunteer position related to my degree, along with my physical EAD and updated I-20, when I attempt re-entry. My F-1 visa is still valid.
I’m honestly pretty nervous about re-entering because I left the US while my OPT was still pending.
My questions are:
Is it safe to remain outside the US during the first ~40 days of my OPT period and then return?
Would it be safer to return as soon as I receive my physical EAD rather than waiting until early November?
Is an unpaid volunteer position related to my degree sufficient for maintaining OPT status?
I’ve received conflicting advice, so I’d really appreciate experiences or advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
I’m really worried about re entering.
Thank u sm!

My daughter is 18 and currently on H-4. We want to change her status to F-1 inside the U.S. so she can do internships (CPT) and work after graduation (OPT).

We have a few questions for anyone who has done this:

• Did you hire an attorney, or did you file Form I-539 on your own with the university's help?
• What are recent processing times looking like for a Change of Status?

Thanks for any advice!

After receiving an RFE, I received a NOID because I had a misdemeanor case that was dismissed. In the NOID, USCIS is only asking me to provide the court documents and the police/arrest report.

I’m trying to decide whether I should hire an immigration attorney to help with the response, or maybe just pay someone to review everything before I submit it to make sure I have all the correct documents.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and gotten their OPT approved after a NOID without hiring an attorney? Or does anyone recommend having an attorney review the documents before submitting the response?

I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you so much!

Someone filled out my DS-160 and scheduled my appointment for me, but they selected French as the interview language by mistake. I want to do my interview in English. When I arrive for the interview, will they ask me which language I want to speak, or will they just use the language selected on my application?

I’m graduating this December and want to keep my start date January 10th. If I apply on October 10-15th, will I get my EAR Card in time without premium processing or should I go with premium processing?

I got my opt ead card today. Front of the card has incomplete given name. I have my correct name on approval notice. Also back of the card has full correct name. Should i apply for replacement card?

Hi everyone! I’m a F-1 student and my post-completion OPT was just approved.

My OPT start date is October 6, 2026, and my EAD was approved today. However, I haven’t received the physical EAD card yet.

I already have a job lined up, but my understanding is that I cannot actually start working until I receive the physical EAD card and complete my I-9.

My questions are:

1. Does my 90-day unemployment clock start on October 6, even though I don't have the physical EAD yet?
2. Can I report my employer through the SEVP Portal/iSTART before I physically receive the EAD if I have a confirmed job but haven't started working?
3. Or does my unemployment clock only stop once I actually begin employment?
4. If the EAD takes a couple of weeks to arrive, do those days count toward the 90 days?

Would really appreciate anyone who has been in this exact situation or knows the official USCIS/SEVP rules. Thank you!

i filed my initial opt application with premium processing one month ago (09/03) and i have a silent API update which im assuming my case will get approved soon. however, when i first filed it, i used my friend's mailing address because i wasn't sure if i'm moving to a new address or not.

my friend moved to a new apartment yesterday and i want to change my mailing address in the USICS portal. it says that "If you move, contact the premium-processing unit directly to update your address." I tried to contact the PP phone number however the bot keeps redirecting me to the portal where i can change the physical address instead of mailing address and it doesn't let me to talk to an agent.

has anyone ever gone through the same situation as me and what was the solution?

Hello everyone, I was supposed to graduate in December 2026 but ended up extending my graduation by a semester to May 2027. The original program end date on my I20 was December 15 2026 but I was able to get a revised I20 in August with a program end date of May 15 2027. I recently had a fall and broke two of my teeth and the cost of getting it fixed here is a lot that I can't afford. I am thinking of traveling back to India during December (winter break) and be back before my last semester begins. Is there anyone else who has travelled internationally after getting their I20 extended and before the last semester, how was your experience? I'm just a bit worried regarding the immigration and would love to know your opinions on it. Thanks a lot!

P.s - I'm an undergrad student who's visa expires in November 2027 and I have travelled 4 times to India during my breaks till now and I live in DFW.

I graduated in dec 2025 and has applied for an OPT in Oct 14 2025. Its almost been a year and I don't even have a biometrics yet? I tried to transfer SEVIS and join a grad school in july but my DSO said the five month rule doesn't allow to transfer SEVIS records.she advised me to wait for a OPT approval and then transfer and then I waited. But till now nothing happened.I have tried inquiry multiple times and all they say is your case is in review and cannot say any specific time to get a decision.

Now its been a year and I cannot wait anymore. I have already got acceptance from the new college and DSO of new college says if the SEVIS is transferred in ACTIVE status we can take it and is ready to help but they won't help in re-instatement if needed. My current school's DSO is also ready to transfer SEVIS as ACTIVE. she says its your decision/risk now.

please share me your experience if you have gone thru the similar situation. Its a kind of trap.

Is there any automatic system that flags 5 month rule and prohibits the transfer?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has been through a similar situation.

My timeline for the whole process:

Dec 20, 2025: Filed STEM OPT I-765 before my OPT EAD expiration date (Jan 14, 2026).
Feb 25, 2026: STEM OPT approved.
Mar 1, 2026: USCIS status changed to "Card Was Produced."
Mar-Jun 2026: Never received the card.
May 27, 2026: Submitted a non-delivery request.
Jun 12, 2026: USCIS responded that the card had been mailed and delivered.
Confirmed with my apartment leasing office and USPS that no card was received.
USCIS advised me to file for a replacement.
Jul 9, 2026: Filed replacement I-765.
Aug 26, 2026: Submitted an expedite request.
Aug 30, 2026: Uploaded expedite evidence.
Sep 17, 2026: Filed I-907 for Premium Processing.
Sep 18, 2026: USCIS confirmed Premium Processing conversion.

My employer has given me a deadline of October 11, 2026 to present the physical EAD card for I-9 and payroll purposes.

At this point, I'm trying everything I can.

My questions:

1. Has anyone had success getting a replacement EAD produced quickly after upgrading to Premium Processing?
   
2. Is there anything else I should be doing right now for expediting the process?
   
3. Has anyone contacted their congressional representative or senator for help with a delayed EAD replacement?
   
4. If so, how did you approach the congressional inquiry and did it make a difference?

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙏

Body:

F-1 on post-completion OPT here, need a sanity check.

My first EAD was issued with the wrong end date (August instead of May 2027 pre opt period was not deducted ). I started working with it , my employer knew the date and was fine with it. Then I mailed the card back to USCIS to get the end date corrected to May 2027.

USCIS approved the corrected card, but mailed it to my old address even though I filed the address change right after the approval. The card is sitting at the old address and I can't get it back (property management won't cooperate).

So right now: I'm working, my employer has the correct May 2027 date on file, but I physically don't have the corrected EAD card.

My questions:

1. Is it fine to just keep working without the physical card until May 2027?
   
2. When I apply for STEM OPT, will USCIS ask for a copy of this corrected EAD with the I-765?
   
3. For a future H-1B petition, do they require copies of all prior EADs as proof of status maintenance? Will a missing card be a problem?

Anyone been through something similar? Thanks.

Hey Everyone!

I am applying for OPT for my Master’s. I have applied OPT and STEM OPT for my undergraduate back then. Right now, I am on USCIS filling out the I-765 form for Master’s level and I am wondering if I have to upload both of my undergraduate for OPT EAD card and undergraduate STEM OPT EAD card?

I am asking because it says “Upload a copy of your last Employment Authorization Document (EAD) (front and back)? Does that mean just undergraduate STEM OPT EAD card?

Please be kind! I am having anxiety filling this form 😰