OPT Reporting Requirements

Pre-Completion OPT

After Submitting Application - Approval

  1. USCIS will inform you when your OPT has been approved, and that your EAD is being created.
  2. USCIS will inform you that the EAD has been mailed to you via USPS, and will provide you with a tracking number.
  3. There is a limit of how long your EAD may remain in your mailbox before USPS returns it to USCIS. Therefore, you should make sure you or someone you trust is checking your mail.
  4. Once you have your card:
    1. Submit a Student Request with Request type "OPT/OPT STEM Approved"
    2. Use UH Filedrop to send a copy of it to ISS staff email (issstaff@hawaii.edu) for confirmation.
  5. You may begin work on the date that your OPT starts, or when you receive the card, whichever is later. You may not begin work if you have not received your card.
  6. If you applied for a Social Security Number through the I-765, you should receive it within about two weeks of your OPT start date.

Reporting Requirements

There are no specific reporting requirements for Pre-Completion OPT. There is no limit to days of unemployment. Any violations to status automatically ends OPT.

Post-Completion OPT

After Submitting Application - Approval

  1. USCIS will inform you when your OPT has been approved, and that your EAD is being created.
  2. USCIS will inform you that the EAD has been mailed to you via USPS, and will provide you with a tracking number.
  3. There is a limit of how long your EAD may remain in your mailbox before USPS returns it to USCIS. Therefore, you should make sure you or someone you trust is checking your mail.
  4. Once you have your card:
    1. Submit a Student Request with Request type "OPT/OPT STEM Approved"
    2. Use UH Filedrop to send a copy of it to ISS staff email (issstaff@hawaii.edu) for confirmation.
  5. You may begin work on the date that your OPT starts, or when you receive the card, whichever is later. You may not begin work if you have not received your card.
  6. If you applied for a Social Security Number through the I-765, you should receive it within about two weeks of your OPT start date.

When an F-1 student is approved for OPT, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will email the student on the start date of OPT a set of instructions to set up an SEVP Portal account. Through this portal, students can update their OPT information directly.

Reporting Requirements

Updates to physical home addresses, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and employer information must be reported via the SEVP Portal account within 10 days of the change. Limit of 120 days of unemployment allowed. Students may not enroll in any degree program or coursework that may contribute to a degree; only avocational and leisure courses are allowed. Enrollment in a new course of study automatically cancels OPT. Any violations of status will automatically cancel OPT.

 

STEM OPT Extension

After Submitting Application - Approval

  1. Upon receipting of your application, your employment authorization is automatically extended up to 180 days or until USCIS approves or denies your application, or if it is withdrawn, whichever comes first. Use the receipt with your current EAD to verify this authorization to your employer.
  2. USCIS will inform you when your OPT has been approved, and that your EAD is being created.
  3. USCIS will inform you that the EAD has been mailed to you via USPS, and will provide you with a tracking number.
  4. There is a limit of how long your EAD may remain in your mailbox before USPS returns it to USCIS. Therefore, you should make sure you or someone you trust is checking your mail.
  5. Once you have your card:
    1. Submit a Student Request with Request type "OPT/OPT STEM Approved"
    2. Use UH Filedrop to send a copy of it to ISS staff email (issstaff@hawaii.edu) for confirmation.

You will continue to use your SEVP Portal Account that you set up for Post-Completion OPT, but may only make changes to name and contact information. In order to update employment, you must submit a report to ISS. You are also required to submit periodic reports to SEVP through ISS.

Reporting Requirements

Updates to physical home addresses, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and some minor changes to employer must be reported via the SEVP Portal account within 10 days of the change.

For all other situations listed below, the student must report via ISS within 10 days of any change. Complete the STEM OPT Report form, log the request via the ISS Submit Request portal with Request type "OPT STEM Report", then upload the form along with other required documentation according to the directions.

  • Material changes or deviations to an existing employer's form I-983. This may include but are not limited to the following:
    • Any change of the employer’s Employer Identification Number, (i.e., the company’s Federal Tax ID number) resulting from a change in the employer’s ownership or structure.
    • Any reduction in student compensation that is not tied to a reduction in hours worked.
    • Any significant decrease in hours per week that a student engages in a STEM training opportunity.
    • Changes to the employer’s commitments or student’s learning objectives as documented on the form I-983.
  • Adding a new employer. This requires the following:
    • The employer be registered with E-Verify at the time of hire.
    • The student must submit a report via ISS with a form I-983 for the new employer.
  • End/loss of employment
  • Every 6 months of the Extension period, report to confirm name, address and employment information within 10 days of the report due date.
  • Every 12 months of the Extension period, must submit a self-evaluation from the form I-983 for each existing employer within 10 days of the report due date. The evaluations must be signed by the student and the employer.
  • For any employment that ends any time within the first 12 months of the Extension period, the first self-evaluation from the form I-983 must be submitted as the "final evaluation" within 10 days of the end date.
  • For any employment that ends any time within the second 12 months of the Extension period, the second self-evaluation on the form I-983 must be submitted within 10 days of the end date.
  • Limit of additional 60 days of unemployment allowed, combined with any remaining from the 90 days of allowed unemployment time during regular OPT. Students may not enroll in any degree program or coursework that may contribute to a degree; only avocational and leisure courses are allowed. Enrollment in a new course of study automatically cancels OPT. Any violations of status will automatically cancel OPT.