The STEM OPT Extension Filing Window

Post-completion Optional Practical Training for an F-1 student is ordinarily authorized for up to twelve months. A student whose qualifying degree is on the STEM Designated Degree Program list, working for an employer enrolled in E-Verify, may apply for one additional STEM OPT extension of up to twenty-four months — for a combined maximum of thirty-six months of OPT total on that degree level, not an indefinite series of extensions.

USCIS must receive the STEM OPT extension application (Form I-765) before the student's current post-completion OPT authorization expires — filing after it has already lapsed is not permitted under the standard rule. Because processing takes time, USCIS guidance and most university international offices recommend filing as early as the regulations allow (commonly described as up to ninety days before the current OPT end date) rather than waiting until close to the deadline.

A student on OPT (including STEM OPT) whose employer has filed a timely H-1B petition requesting a change of status, selected in that year's H-1B cap process, can receive an automatic extension of both F-1 status and employment authorization through September 30 of that year — bridging the gap between OPT's expiration and the H-1B's October 1 start date. This 'cap-gap' extension is conditional on the petition still being pending or approved and requesting a change of status rather than consular processing; it ends immediately if the H-1B petition is denied, withdrawn, or revoked.