International Student Services

STEM OPT Extension Requirements and FAQ

Changes to contact information

  • Report US address or contact information to the SEVP portal within 10 days of any change.

Changes to employment

When an employment change has occurred, submit a new Form I-983 training plan form to the international student portal for ISS staff to update your employment information with SEVP. A new I-20 can be provided to you upon request.

  • Report Employment changes to ISS within 10 days of any change.
  • All employer changes must include a new Form I-983.
  • If you are no longer working at a previous employer, you must submit the final evaluation with that employer’s Form I-983 training plan, indicating your final day of employment.

Validations & Evaluations of employment every 6 months

  • We must validate your continued participation in the STEM OPT Extension at 6 & 18 months.
  • You must also submit a validation and evaluation (page 5 of your I-983) at 12 & 24 months.
  • You will be sent reminder emails from SEVP close to your evaluation time, but you should mark it in your calendar so you don’t forget.
  • Go to the international student portal to complete the STEM OPT Validation request every six months.
  • If you do not report to us on time, you risk having your SEVIS record terminated by SEVP.

Unemployment

You have 150 unemployment days on your STEM OPT Extension, minus any unemployment days you used while on Post-completion OPT. Another way to look at it is to take your remaining Post-completion OPT unemployment days and add 60 additional days.

Ending OPT Prior to your OPT end date

Transferring out and pursuing a new program of study

Whether you’ve been admitted to a new program of study at UWB or another school, you must let us know. You’ll find requests in the international student portal for both of these events.

For transfer out requests, please note that your OPT will immediately terminate on your requested transfer out date.

Leaving the US and abandonment of OPT

If you are leaving the US and no longer planning to use OPT, please complete the Leaving US request on the international student portal after you have departed. We will complete your immigration record.

Note that your I-20 will no longer be valid for entry after completing this request.