Update (October 2023): How USCIS determines the receipt of the form and what to do if you filed an outdated form have been added based on the official newsletter by the CIS Ombudsman office.

Update: The most recent edition of Form I-765 is 10/31/2022. OPT/STEM OPT applicants who would like to apply for OPT/STEM OPT via mail must check the USCIS webpage to confirm the newest edition date.

Summary: Effective November 7, 2022, USCIS will only accept the 07/26/2022 edition of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization and USICS will allow copies of original signatures on the forms and documents.

USCIS has updated the edition of Form I-765 OPT and STEM OPT application.

This update comes after the court’s final rules regarding asylum applicants. As the I-765, Application for Employment Authorization has been updated to reflect the final rules, all I-765 applicants including OPT and STEM OPT must complete Form I-765 with the newest edition date.

Also applicants can submit the application with scanned or copied signatures.

OPT applicants who have completed Form I-765 before would know where to find the edition date but this blog post will share how to check the edition date for Form I-765, and what to do if they have filed Form I-765 with previous edition dates for new applicants.

If you haven’t started the application yet, completing the online I-765 OPT (STEM OPT) would be a good practice too as online applicants don’t have to worry about the edition dates and the wet signature on the form.

Prospective OPT (STEM OPT) applicants can click the following related blog posts to learn how to create the USCIS account and how to complete Form I-765 online.

Related blog post 1: Step by step guide to create the USCIS account for OPT online application
Related blog post 2: How to file Form I-765 online for OPT, STEM OPT
Related blog post 3: The best way to track OPT/STEM OPT case status

Content

• Form I-765 new edition update
• (Updated in October 2023) Case studies: What if I filed the outdated form?
• Pandemic signature policy becomes permanent
• Don’t do this for paper filing by USCIS

Form I-765 new edition update

The edition date can be found at the bottom of the page as you can see in the image below.

Students who plan to file the I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, must check this date before they start completing the form and ensure the edition date is up to date.

What if the student already filed the paper OPT (STEM OPT) application with the previous edition dates?

Case studies: What if I filed the outdated form?

USCIS says applicants can submit Form I-765 with 05/31/2022 and 08/25/2020 edition dates until November 7, 2022.

When USCIS updates a form’s edition and/or fee, they would usually post the grace period when they will receive both editions. See the following for USCIS’s protocol for submitting editions on each timeline:

• Before the grace period: New editions will not be allowed.
• During the grace period noted on the USCIS webpage for each form: Applicants can file both the old edition form and the new edition form
• After the grace period: Old editions will not be allowed and the form can be rejected.

Thus, based on the USCIS policy, USCIS might not accept previous editions after November 7, 2022.

What if the application’s expected arrival date is after November 7, 2022, and the student completed and shipped out Form I-765 with previous edition dates?

USCIS will consider the following dates as “filed” or “submitted” dates for determining the correct form edition and the filing fee payment date:

• Protocol: the postmark on the package
• “If there is no shipping date on the label, USCIS considers the date you printed the label to be the postmark date.”
• “If the label does not have a shipping date or print date, USCIS will assume that the postmark date is 10 days before it received the package.”

Therefore, it is important for you to check the date on the shipping label to see if USCIS will process your form or not.

What if USCIS rejected your form for using an improper version but you have documented proof of your mailing date?

• Go to the USCIS’s “Inquiries Based on Filing Location” from the Contact Us page (https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/contact-us) to learn who to contact at the agency.
• If the case is not resolved, reach out to the CIS Ombudsman office by submitting a case assistance: https://www.dhs.gov/case-assistance

To sum up, the official USCIS’s rule on receiving paper forms and payments regarding the dates is “USCIS must physically receive your request on or before the day the deadline ends.” In other words, the receipt date at the filing location will be the actual date that USCIS received the form.

OPT applicants who filed the outdated form after the grace period might choose to cancel the OPT while OPT status is pending -please see the related post to learn more about the withdrawal process.

Related post: How to cancel OPT request & OPT application withdrawal process

Pandemic signature policy becomes permanent

Believe it or not, one of the most common reasons that OPT/ STEM OPT applications are denied or rejected is due to the signature on Form I-765- OPT/ STEM OPT applications.

Applicants who complete the paper form are required to put the wet signature which means putting the signature with a pen-preferably with a blue pen.

According to the Ombudsman office which delivers complaints or opinions of users to USCIS and assists applicants with the late EAD card issuance, many applicants and stakeholders expressed their concerns that the wet signature policy is unnecessary and inefficient.

During the pandemic, USCIS made a temporary revision to this wet signature policy and allowed applicants to submit copies of original signatures on the forms and documents.

Related blog post: All about EAD card; EAD address change, late delivery

On July 2022, USCIS announced that copies of original signatures on the forms and documents will be allowed permanently even after the pandemic.

Therefore, students who plan to file the paper I-765 application can keep the form with original signatures for themselves and submit a copy of the form, if they prefer.

Applicants who plan to submit a copy of the handwritten signature on the form are still required to keep the document with original signatures so they can submit it when requested.

It is worth noting that USCIS doesn’t allow electronic signatures on the forms. OPT and STEM OPT applicants are advised to put a handwritten signature on Form I-765.

USCIS will accept copies of original signatures on all benefit forms and documents, even if the form instructions require an original handwritten (“wet”) signature. This means that you can submit a scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced copy of a document to USCIS as long as the copy is of an original document containing an original handwritten signature.

You must keep the original document with the wet signature and provide it to USCIS if requested.

This exception only applies to signatures. You must follow all other form instructions when completing a form.

USCIS’ Pandemic Signature Policy is Now Permanent by CIS Ombudsman

Don’t do this for paper filing by USCIS

It’s no secret that USCIS has taken the initiative to digitize the process.

On November 16, 2022 USCIS confirmed that even paper applications will be scanned and stored in “electronic database systems.”

In this context, international students who plan to file paper applications are encouraged to not do the following to avoid delays in the adjudication process.

The following list was pasted from the USCIS newsletter titled Recommendations for Paper Filings to Avoid Scanning Delays. USCIS recommends that applicants or petitioners do NOT:

• Hole punch, staple, paper clip, binder clip, or otherwise attach documents to one another.
• Include photos or documents smaller than 4×6 inches for evidentiary purposes. Provide photocopies of these items instead. The only exception is when we request a passport photo with the filing.
• Submit forms or evidence documents bound with a binding or spiral wire/plastic.
• Fold documents.
• Place sticky notes on documents.
• Use insertable tab dividers.
• Print forms on colored paper.
• Submit more than one copy of the same document or evidence unless required by the form instructions or regulations. If you are required to submit a copy of a complete prior application, petition, or request, clearly mark it as a “COPY” at the top of each page to ensure it is processed as intended.
• Send original documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, driver’s licenses, passports, naturalization certificates, except when:
  • Required by the form instructions for the application, petition, or request you are filing; or
  • We specifically issue a request for you to submit an original document.

This blog post touched on the most recent updates about the OPT and STEM OPT applications 1. new edition on the Form I-765 and 2. update on the wet signature policy.

Although keeping abreast of recent updates is important for international students, I would recommend completing the online OPT and STEM OPT applications as they don’t have to worry about wet signatures and edition dates at all. Students can type their names and check the box before they submit the online application.

When it comes to completing and submitting OPT and STEM OPT applications, I believe minimizing all the risks that the applications can be rejected or denied is what matters the most.

To learn more about how to complete the online OPT application and how to solve various issues you might encounter with OPT/ STEM OPT applications, go to OPT and STEM OPT pages respectively. International students who would like to see how long it takes to hear back from USCIS after the Form I-765 submission can go to OPT/STEM OPT Forum.