Give Yourself 5 Months to Find a Job Before Your OPT Starts
By Scholarship for USA on Mar 04, 2009 with Comments 8
Everyone knows that the US economy is in the pits and it is extremely difficult for anyone to find a job. Companies are laying off their workers by the thousands and those that are not have gone on a firing freeze. I was talking to a friend the other day who is responsible for interviewing candidates for a SQL programmer position that has opened up at her company. This is an entry level position. What surprised her was that candidates who had in excess of eight years of experience had applied for this entry level position. One candidate had eight years experience and a double Masters degree. They were all ready to work for $42000/year. The market is flooded with job seekers all vying for a few open positions. In such a market, it is very difficult for a recent college grad with little to no experience to find a job. Your problems increase ten fold if on top of being a recent college grad, you are also an international student who needs sponsorship to work in the US.
The Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows international students to work in the US for twelve months. If you are on a STEM major, then you are eligible to get a 17 month extension. However, there is a catch. If you are unemployed for more than 3 months combined during your OPT, then your OPT automatically gets cancelled and you will have to leave the US. Therefore, it is very important that you give yourself ample time to find a job before your OPT even starts. There is a way in which you can give yourself 5 months time to look for a job after you graduate and before you start your OPT. All this requires is a little planning in advance and some time management skills.
Before I explain any further, let me tell you some laws regarding international students that many of you probably already know. You have a sixty day grace period to leave the US after you graduate. If you choose to stay longer, you will need to get a new I-20 or apply for OPT before the sixty days are up. When you apply for OPT, you can set your OPT start date to be 3 months from the day you apply. Once you apply for OPT, you will be in status even if your sixty days are up.
I am sure most of you have caught on by now. The trick is to apply for OPT almost two months after you have graduated. In the application form, set you OPT start date to be three months from the application date. So the two months grace period plus the three months OPT processing time will give you five months. You can utilize these five months to look for a job which is much better than having your OPT in hand but no job offers.
I think a few words of caution are in order here. Don’t wait until the 60th day of your grace period to apply for the OPT. You may not have all your paperwork in order or the day might fall on a weekend. Its too risky. Give yourself at least a week of slack time to apply for the OPT. Also, immigration laws change all the time. Make sure you speak to your Designated School Official (DSO) about your plans way in advance so you don’t get any nasty surprises later on when its time for you to file your application.
Do you know of any other ways that international students can utilize their OPT work permit effectively? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Further reading: Companies that Hire International Students & Sponsor H1B
Filed Under: Featured Articles • OPT
This is a nice strategy applying for OPT. But in the case that the applicant gets a job offer within 1 month of graduation, and if he hasn’t yet applied for OPT, he won’t be able to start until he gets the EAD, which could take upto 3 months. The employer may not be willing to wait for the work authorization.
Another consideration is H1B application. You may want to have OPT work authorization complete in Fab/March if you are graduating in December, so that you get a job and apply for H1B on April.
One issue the OP forgot to mention is the OPT applicant might want to search for an E-Verify company as its required for OPT extension. Also, once on OPT extension, you can be unemployed for 120 days (4 months). On normal OPT its 90 days.
If you are worried about timing and if you want to expedite your OPT authorization, call USCIS for expedite processing and you will see your case moved to the head of line.
SRAJ, thank you for your comments. Yes, an employer may not be willing to wait for an applicant to get their OPT. But when you apply for jobs, you can usually specify when you are available to start work. That would be your OPT start date.
You are spot on about the E-Verify companies. I was going to mention it in a different article.
5 months is when if you have built your network. In current economic downturn it might take even longer. Most of the students are not sure what kind of resume to use for job search.
Every advisor I have talked to says that the latest date to begin OPT is 60 days after graduation.
this is what I got from international student advisor:
“To be approved for OPT and receive your EAD card could take up to 90 days since you must file with USCIS directly. You may apply for OPT as soon as 90 days before your graduation date. You may also apply as late as 60 days after your graduation date.”
simple calculation 90+60=150 days.
of course, USCIS can issue EAD card earlier.
This is not a valid strategy per SEVP guidance on 4/23/10:
section 6.2
“a student cannot have a requested post-completion OPT start date that is more than 60 days past the student’s program end date.”
they continue in section 6.3
“a start date more than 60 days after the program end date is treated as a request to start on the 60th day after the program end date” …. the end date will not be more than 14 months after the program end date.
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most beneficial. Seems like like to talk about on something