Must-know 4 eligibility for student visa OPT

OPT stands for Optional Practical Training and it authorizes F-1 foreign students to work legally in the United States. To be eligible to apply for OPT, international students should meet 4 requirements. It cannot be emphasized enough to understand these 4 requirements as it affects students’ academic plans, especially during the pandemic.

For example, if the student has two more semesters to go and would like to apply for OPT upon graduation, the student will have to either take online courses from the home country or fly into the United States, rather than taking leave of absence, to meet the one-year requirement of OPT.

Based on the regulation 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10) – (13) by the Department of Homeland Security, each OPT regulation will be discussed. At the end of the blog, you will have a better idea of planning your academic and career path as an international student.

Contents

• Student visa OPT requirement 1: Should not be in the English language program
• Student visa OPT requirement 2: one full academic year
• OPT requirement 3: Should have not worked for full-time CPT or pre OPT for a year
• OPT requirement 4: Employment must be directly related to major area of study

Student visa OPT requirement 1: Should not be in the English language program

Not all international students are eligible for the OPT program. If you are enrolled in the English language training program, you cannot take advantage of the OPT or CPT (Curricular Practical Training) program. This is because the OPT program was made to provide work experiences that are related to the student’s major.

In the same light, in big cities like New York and LA, there are English academies where it sounds like a university or college. Students who are enrolled in these academies cannot apply for OPT as well. To be eligible for OPT, students should be enrolled in any SEVP-registered college, university, conservatory, or seminary.

Student visa OPT requirement 2: one full academic year

An F-1 student must have been “lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis in a Service-approved college, university, conservatory, or seminary for one full academic year” to be eligible for CPT or OPT.

[8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)]

U.S. immigration requires that an F-1 student must be enrolled on a full-time basis for one academic year to be eligible for OPT. To meet the full-time requirement, undergraduate international students should register for 12 credits. When it comes to graduate students, usually 9 credits are considered as a full-time.

Below is a number of exceptions to this requirement:

1. Students authorized for Reduced Course Load (RCL). In this case, although an F-1 student is taking a less than full course of study, as he or she was authorized by the designated school official (DSO), the student is eligible for OPT if the student meets other requirements.
2. Study abroad: If the student was enrolled in full time for one academic year in the United States before he or she was involved in a study abroad program, the time spent enrolled in a study abroad program can count towards the one academic year requirement.
3. Other than F-1 status: Non-immigrant visa holders other than F-1, who have spent at least one academic year can count those times toward the one academic year requirement. For example, if you were enrolled full itme as an exchange student or any other nonimmigrant status including A, E, G, H, J, L, O, and TN non-immigrant categories, you can count the time toward the one academic year requirement.

This one-year requirement is what international students need to keep in mind when they plan to take a leave of absence or withdraw from the college.

Due to the 5 month rule, the SEVIS record of an F-1 student, who stay outside the U.S. for more than 5 months, needs to be terminated. (To see COVID-19 specific regulation on the 5-month rule, go to the related blog post below). When the student is coming back, a new I-20 with a new SEVIS number will be provided to the student.

This means that the student’s SEVIS history doesn’t show one academic year record, regardless of the actual time that the student spent in the college.

In this light, current students who have only two semesters to go, are encouraged to not withdraw from the college, unless they do not plan to apply for OPT. On the other hand, if you have transferred from college A to B, the number of semesters spent at college A will be counted toward the one-year requirement, as the record can be found under the same SEVIS ID.

Related blog post: F-1 student visa 5 month rule affected by COVID-19

OPT requirement 3: Should have not worked for full-time CPT or pre OPT for a year

International students, who would like to participate in internships during their studies, need to get CPT authorized. When the student works for more than 20 hours a week, it is considered a full-time CPT. If the student engages in full-time CPT for a year, the student will not be eligible to apply for OPT. On the other hand, part-time CPT will not impact your OPT eligibility.

Likewise, if the student finds employment opportunities before graduation, thus, working through the pre-completion OPT, it will impact the post-completion OPT. Please see the regulation below:

Part-time practical training, 20 hours per week or less, shall be deducted from available practical training at one-half the full-time rate.

8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)

OPT requirement 4: Employment must be directly related to major area of study

Last but not least, the work that the student is going to do through the OPT MUST be related to the student’s major area of study. STEM OPT applicants need to address how the work is related to the major. While the initial OPT applicant doesn’t have the field to state the relationship on the SEVP portal, your school might ask you to provide the proof to note in the remark area on your I-20.

Consistent with the application and approval process in paragraph (f)(11) of this section, a student may apply to USCIS for authorization for temporary employment for optional practical training directly related to the student’s major area of study.

8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)

The bottom line is that an international student can apply for a student visa OPT when…

• the student has enrolled in the program, which is not an English learning program; AND
• for a year; AND
• on a full time basis; AND
• has not worked in aggregation of 12 months of full-time CPT or pre-completion OPT

Additionally, the work the student is going to engage in through OPT must be related to the student’s major area of study. In the next blog, how to decide the best OPT start date and the earliest date that students can apply for OPT will be discussed.

All important OPT news and updates can be found on the OPT page.