STEM OPT Extension – FAQs

You can find a list of all of the STEM fields here.

A list of programs at NC State and corresponding CIP codes as assigned by the state is available here.

Yes, and this job offer needs to meet the following requirements:

1. It has to be directly related to your degree and the STEM field of study
2. It has to be full time (i.e. at least 20 hours per week)
3. It must be from an employer who participates in E-Verify
4. It must be an eligible type of employment (unpaid or volunteer positions, positions with temp agencies and self-employment do not qualify)

E-Verify is an internet-based system operated by USCIS in partnership with the Social Security Administration to help employers determine the employment eligibility of their employees. You can find more information about E-Verify here.

The E-Verify website has a search tool for finding participating employers here.

A student may obtain up to two STEM extensions provided that the second STEM extension is for a higher qualifying degree.  For example: if you receive a 24-month STEM OPT extension based on your bachelor’s degree in Engineering and you later earn a master’s degree in Engineering, you may apply for an additional 24-month STEM OPT extension based on your master’s degree (after obtaining regular 12-month OPT for the master’s degree).

You can find the application instructions on OIS’s STEM OPT webpage. All forms are available on OIS’s Forms Page.

The STEM Maintenance Fee is $200 which is payable by credit card at https://commerce.cashnet.com/NCSUOIS.

Form I-983 is a formal Training Plan for STEM OPT Students required by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The training plan must clearly articulate the STEM OPT student’s learning objectives and affirm the employer’s commitment to helping the student achieve those objectives.

Step-by-step guidance for completing Form I-983 can be found here.

No. A completed and signed Form I-983 must be submitted to OIS as part of the request for a new I-20 with the STEM OPT recommendation. However, a student or OIS may also be required to submit the I-983 to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and/or USCIS upon request.

No. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. It consists of four to seven digits. EIN is Employer Identification Number. It’s a nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the purposes of taxation and identification.

You will need to indicate your employer’s E-Verify number on your Form I-765 and EIN on Form I-983.

Once we receive all required materials, it will take up to 10 business days to issue the new I-20.

You can send your application to USCIS as early as 90 days prior to the end date of your current EAD card, and USCIS must receive your application prior to the end date of your EAD card. Your application must also be received within 60 days of the STEM OPT Extension I-20 issuance date (indicated by the date of the OIS Designated School Official’s signature on page 1). Please note, you must apply while you are physically present in the U.S. You cannot apply from abroad.

The start date for the extension will be the day after your current EAD card ends and your end date will be 24 months after the start date. The dates are set by USCIS, they cannot be changed.

Check USCIS’ webpage for current processing time. The estimated time range for Fall 2020 is 2 to 5 months.

USCIS does not allow applicants to pay a fee for expedited processing and guaranteed adjudication by a certain date.  Rather, USCIS does accept requests for expedited processing of petitions filed in a timely manner based on certain extreme criteria. Students may follow the instructions on the USCIS web page to determine if you meet the USCIS criteria for expedited processing and to complete an expedited processing request. OIS is not involved in the processing of any petitions filed with USCIS and any inquiries regarding the expedited processing request need to be sent to USCIS.

You can, but it can (and often does) result in a delay of receipt of your EAD card or a lost EAD card. We highly recommend to use a mailing address you know will be valid for 3-5 months on your application so that your EAD card will be delivered smoothly. If you MUST change your address, please complete USCIS’ Change of Address form online – you will need your Receipt number, old address and new address, and your email address.

As long as USCIS has received your application prior to your current EAD expires, your legal status and work authorization in the US are automatically extended by up to 180 days or until you receive a decision from USCIS regarding your request.

Yes, temporarily. Under standard post-completion OPT, you receive a 90 day allotment to be unemployed. When you receive the STEM extension, you receive an additional 60 days allotment to be unemployed giving you a total of 150 days of unemployment during your entire OPT time.

Yes, any time you are unemployed, whether you’re in the US or abroad, counts against your 150 day allotment.

Yes, you have a grace period of 60 days after completing STEM OPT. There is no grace period if your STEM OPT ends early due to hitting the allotted unemployment days maximum.

USCIS will send you an electronic confirmation of receipt if you have submitted Form G-1145 with your application. Next, you will receive a hard copy receipt notice via post mail with your receipt number on it. The processing can take two to five months from the date on your receipt notice. If USCIS needs further information from you, you will receive a hard copy “Request for Evidence” (RFE) in the mail. The RFE has a deadline by which you must respond.  

If you receive an RFE, please send a copy to OIS and have your response reviewed by an OIS advisor before sending it to USCIS.

Students may use the receipt number (the number begins with three letters followed by 10 numbers such as YSC1234567890) that is provided on the receipt notice to track the status of their application on USCIS’ Case Status Tracker.

f your STEM OPT application is timely filed (i.e. USCIS received your complete application within 90 days prior to your EAD expiration date), your OPT employment authorization will be automatically extended for up to 180 days, until USCIS makes a decision on your application.

Many employers require the Receipt Notice issued by USCIS for the STEM OPT application for the student to start or continue employment on STEM OPT. The Receipt Notice may be required for I-9 verification purposes. OIS has no expertise with I-9. Please consult with your employer (or prospective employer) regarding this requirement and plan your application filing time accordingly. It usually takes USCIS 3-4 weeks to mail a Receipt Notice.

Review your EAD card to make sure there are no errors and upload a copy of your card in GlobalHome using this link.

Please email a copy of the RFE to OIS (ois@ncsu.edu) and request an advisor’s assistance.

No. According to the government regulations, only an employer enrolled in E-Verify may qualify for STEM OPT. The employer must have a valid E-Verify number and an EIN (Employer Identification Number).

Yes, but you must report it to OIS within 10 days of changing employers, so your F-1 record in SEVIS can be updated to reflect this change.  To report change of employers, you must submit the STEM Extension Reporting forms in GlobalHome. In this forms group, you will upload a new I-983 for your new employment and a self-evaluation (last page of I-983) for your previous employment via the STEM Upload Center.

Yes, but USCIS will need to be notified of the change (by OIS). You must report this to OIS within 10 days of changing employers so your F-1 record in SEVIS can be updated to reflect this change. To report change of employers, you must submit the STEM Extension Reporting forms in GlobalHome. In this forms group, you will upload a new I-983 for your new employment, and if your STEM OPT period has already started, you must also upload the final self-evaluation (page 5 of Form I-983) for your previous employer. OIS will issue an updated I-20 for you and notify USCIS about the change.

According to the USCIS STEM OPT webpage, “staffing & temporary agencies & consulting firms may seek to employ students under the STEM OPT program, but only if they will be the entity that provides the practical training experience to the student and they have and maintain a bona fide employer-employee relationship with the student.” According to the same webpage, to ensure a bona fide employer-employee relationship:

• “To establish a bona fide relationship, the employer may not be the student’s “employer” in name only, nor may the student work for the employer on a “volunteer” basis.”
• “Student’s supervisor may be either an employee of the employer, or contractor who the employer has directly retained to provide services to the employer.”
• “Student’s supervisor may NOT be an employee or contractor of the employer’s clients or customers.”
• “Employer that signs the STEM OPT Training Plan (Form I-983) must be the same entity that employs the student and provides the practical training experience.”
• “Employer may NOT assign, or otherwise delegate, its training responsibilities to a non-employer third party (e.g. a client/customer of the employer, employees of the client/customer, or contractors of the client/customer).”
• “DHS will review on a case-by-case basis whether the student will be a bona fide employee of the employer signing the Training Plan, and verify that the employer that signs the Training Plan is the same entity that employs the student and provides the practical training experience.”

In addition, you can refer to the following statement in the Employer Certification on the Form I-983 ( Section 4): “The student will receive on-site supervision and training, consistent with this Plan, by experienced and knowledgeable staff.”

Since it is often difficult to determine whether an arrangement with a staffing agency constitutes a bona fide employer-employee relationship, try to avoid employment with a staffing agency during your STEM OPT. Exception: if you are hired by a staffing agency to perform work directly for the staffing agency (e.g. as a software developer to develop a software system for the staffing agency itself), such employment arrangement will constitute a bona fide employer-employee relationship.

It is our understanding that self-employment is not suitable for STEM OPT. Since you, as a student, may not provide employer attestations on your own behalf, you will not be able to complete the employer part of Form I-983. Moreover, you will not be able to complete evaluations on your training progress, which is also an essential requirement of STEM OPT. Please also refer to the STEM OPT Final Rule in the Federal Register p-521 & p-447.

If you think that your type of self-employment may be suitable for STEM OPT, we strongly advise that you consult with an immigration attorney prior to starting the STEM OPT application process.

Since a 1099 contractor (also known as an independent contractor) is generally considered self-employed, we believe it is in your best interest to avoid working as a 1099 contractor during your STEM OPT.

Being a W-2 employee of a STEM OPT eligible employer is the safest way to ensure compliance with the bona fide employer-employee relationship requirement.

In Section 4 of Form I-983, the employer must certify that “the student will receive on-site supervision and training, consistent with this Plan, by experienced and knowledgeable staff.” DHS also requires that “the employer possesses and maintains the ability and resources to provide structured and guided work-based learning experiences” to the student.

In our understanding, this means that you generally should NOT work remotely from home. 

If you believe that you and your employer are able to establish and maintain a bona fide employer-employee relationship even though you plan to work remotely from home and that your employer has sufficient resources to provide your learning experience, we strongly recommend that you consult with an immigration attorney prior to engaging in such remote employment arrangement.

Only employment that represents a bona fide employee-employer relationship is allowed on STEM OPT.  In addition, the duties, hours, and compensation of all STEM OPT employment must be commensurate that of similarly situated US workers in the area of employment. The following types of employment are not allowed under STEM OPT:

• Unpaid or Volunteer Positions
• Employment through a temp or staffing agency (see above)
• Self-Employment (see above)

STEM OPT students may only work for an employer enrolled in E-Verify and their employment must be at least 20 hours per week and must be directly related to their degree program which serves as basis for their STEM OPT. Students must report each STEM OPT employment to OIS by following the procedures on our STEM OPT webpage.

Yes, please review the STEM Extension Reporting Requirements section of our STEM OPT webpage – it provides a list of the reporting requirements, as well as the procedures OIS has in place to collect the required reports from STEM OPT students. We also highly recommend that you review the STEM OPT reporting requirements on the DHS website. Failure to comply with STEM OPT reporting requirements jeopardizes F-1 status, as well as future immigration benefits.

Please remember that you are required to report the change of employment address within 10 days of such change. Please do so by updating your I-983 and submitting it to OIS via the STEM OPT Upload Center.

The information currently available on the USCIS STEM OPT webpage refers to the change of address as a material change:

“As noted above, DHS, at its discretion, may conduct a site visit of any STEM OPT employer to ensure that the employer possesses and maintains the ability and resources to provide structured and guided work-based learning experiences consistent with the Form I-983. See 8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(11). Consistent with this provision, during a site visit, DHS may verify that the employer that signs the Form I-983 is the same entity that provides the practical training experience to the student and ensure compliance with the 2016 STEM OPT Final Rule. For ICE to effectively conduct these site visits as part of its oversight responsibilities, it is important that employers report any change in a student’s employment address. As indicated above, the employer and student must report such a material change by submitting a modified Form I-983 to the DSO at the earliest available opportunity.”

Please email a copy of the approval notice of your new immigration status (I-797) to OIS at ois@ncsu.edu, so your F-1 immigration record can be closed appropriately.

You may take classes as long as they are supplemental to your employment. You may not start another degree program. (If you would like to start another degree program, your OPT would be canceled and you would receive a new F-1 student record).

Please submit the Departure Form to OIS, so that we can close out your F-1 record accordingly. Also make sure to submit your final STEM OPT evaluation via an updated I-983 to the STEM Upload Center

Yes, you may travel abroad and seek reentry to the U.S. in F-1 status if you have a valid F-1 visa and a current I-20 endorsed for travel by OIS within the last 6 months.

At the port of entry to the U.S. you will need to have:

• Most recent I-20 endorsed for travel within the last 6 months*
• Unexpired initial OPT EAD
• Passport (valid for at least 6 months into the future)
• Valid F-1 visa
• Proof of employment (e.g. a job offer)
• Receipt Notice from USCIS that your STEM OPT application is being processed

That said, international travel while an OPT application is pending should be undertaken with caution. We cannot guarantee that you will have no problems at the port of entry when trying to reenter the U.S. The decision on readmission will be made by a CBP Officer.

*If it has been more than 6 months from the date of the last travel signature on your I-20 (page 2), you will need to request an updated I-20 with a new travel signature from OIS by completing the Travel Request for OPT and STEM students.

We do not recommend that OPT students travel during the period after their initial OPT EAD card has expired and before they have the new EAD card for STEM OPT because OIS we cannot guarantee there will be no problems at the port of entry when trying to reenter the U.S. or at the consulate or embassy if trying to renew the F-1 visa. However, if you do choose to travel internationally after the OPT EAD expires and while the STEM OPT EAD is still pending, you may do so at your own risk and should carry the following documents with you:

• Most recent I-20 endorsed for travel within the last 6 months*
• Expired initial OPT EAD
• Passport (valid for at least 6 months into the future)
• Valid F-1 visa (or if expired, you must renew it while abroad)
• Proof of employment (e.g. a job offer)
• Receipt Notice from USCIS that your STEM OPT application is being processed

*If it has been more than 6 months from the date of the last travel signature on your I-20 (page 2), you will need to request an updated I-20 with a new travel signature from OIS by completing the Travel Request for OPT and STEM students.

• Most recent I-20 endorsed for travel within the last 6 months*
• Unexpired OPT STEM EAD card
• Passport (valid 6 months into the future)
• Valid F-1 visa (or if expired, you must renew it while abroad)
  • If you have been arrested for driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, or for other similar reasons, your visa may in fact be revoked (even if it appears valid on the face of it and has not yet expired). If your visa has been revoked, typically you will have received an email notification of such to the email address associated with your DS-160 when you applied for the visa. Even if you did not receive any such notification, if you have such an arrest, your visa is likely revoked. If you try to re-enter the U.S., your entry may be denied. If your visa has expired and you are renewing your visa, you may have difficulty doing so if you have such an arrest. If you have any concerns about this or think your visa may have been revoked, please consult an OIS advisor BEFORE leaving the U.S.
• Proof of employment (e.g. a job offer)

*If it has been more than 6 months from the date of the last travel signature on your I-20 (page 2), you will need to request an updated I-20 with a new travel signature from OIS by completing the Travel Request for OPT and STEM students.