What Is STEM OPT
24-month work authorization extension for F-1 STEM graduates
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| Current rule effective | May 10, 2016 |
| Regulation | 8 CFR 214.2(f) |
STEM OPT is a 24-month extension of Optional Practical Training (OPT) available to F-1 international students who hold a qualifying bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field from an accredited, SEVP-certified US institution.1 Combined with the standard 12-month post-completion OPT period, eligible students can work in the United States for up to 36 continuous months under F-1 status before needing to transition to a different visa category such as H-1B.2
Optional Practical Training has existed as a mechanism for F-1 students to gain US work experience since the early years of modern US immigration regulation. The program allows students to work in jobs directly related to their major field of study, either before graduation (pre-completion OPT, up to 12 months) or after (post-completion OPT, 12 months). Both forms count against the same 12-month OPT lifetime cap per degree level.1
The STEM OPT extension was created in response to employer and university advocacy arguing that STEM degree holders needed more time to obtain H-1B sponsorship given the annual H-1B lottery. The H-1B cap is set at 65,000 general-category visas per fiscal year (plus 20,000 for US master's degree holders), and USCIS typically receives far more petitions than that within the first week of the filing window.3 Students whose initial 12-month OPT expired before they could secure H-1B sponsorship had no legal basis to remain and work in the United States.
DHS first created a STEM-specific OPT extension on April 8, 2008, through an interim final rule (IFR) published at 73 FR 18944. The rule added a 17-month extension available to F-1 students with qualifying STEM degrees, bringing the total possible OPT duration to 29 months.6 DHS issued the rule under the "good cause" exception to the Administrative Procedure Act's notice-and-comment requirements, bypassing the standard public comment period on the grounds that delaying implementation would cause immediate harm to students and employers already in the middle of hiring and work authorization cycles.
The 2008 rule required the employer to be enrolled in E-Verify, a requirement that was new to OPT at the time. The rule did not require a formal training plan — it required only that the employment be directly related to the student's STEM degree.1
In 2008, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech), a union representing US technology workers, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the 2008 IFR. WashTech argued that DHS had no statutory authority to create the STEM OPT extension through immigration regulation, and that the rule had been unlawfully issued without notice and comment.4
The litigation proceeded for seven years. On August 12, 2015, the district court ruled in WashTech's favor, holding that the 2008 IFR was procedurally invalid because DHS had not established genuine good cause for bypassing notice and comment.5 Rather than vacating the rule immediately — which would have terminated OPT for all STEM students then in valid status — the court stayed the vacatur until February 12, 2016, giving DHS time to issue a replacement rule through proper rulemaking.
DHS used the court's five-month window to publish a proposed rule and accept public comment. On March 11, 2016, DHS issued a final rule at 81 FR 13040, which took effect on May 10, 2016.3 The 2016 rule replaced the 17-month extension with a 24-month extension, extended the E-Verify requirement, and added a comprehensive new compliance framework centered on Form I-983, a formal training plan that must be completed jointly by the student and employer before the extension is approved.
The 2016 rule also introduced mandatory reporting requirements: students must report to their DSO every six months, and must complete formal self-evaluations at the 12-month mark and at the end of the extension period. Employers face reporting obligations if the student's employment ends before the extension expires, and DHS gained authority to conduct unannounced site visits to verify compliance.3
To qualify for STEM OPT, a student must be an F-1 nonimmigrant currently in a valid period of post-completion OPT, hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in a field on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, and work for an employer that is enrolled in E-Verify and has signed a Form I-983 training plan describing how the position relates to the degree.1 The qualifying degree must be from a currently accredited and SEVP-certified institution.
A student may also qualify using a prior STEM degree if they are currently on OPT based on a non-STEM degree — for example, a student who earned a computer science bachelor's degree and later earned an MBA can use the computer science degree to apply for STEM OPT, provided the job is directly related to computer science and they have not already used a STEM OPT extension based on that same degree.3
STEM OPT is not a path to permanent residence and does not confer any preference in immigration proceedings. Its primary practical function is to extend the period during which an F-1 student can accumulate H-1B lottery entries — under current rules, an employer can file an H-1B petition on behalf of a student each year the student is in valid status, and additional lottery chances increase the probability of selection over multiple years.2 Students who are not selected in the lottery after exhausting their STEM OPT extension must depart the United States or obtain another lawful status.