International students—CPT and OPT for summer internships

Hello Monkeys, I have a question regarding using CPT and OPT for summer internships. My school only allows us to use 2 CPTs in total, and I got a gig for freshman year summer. I’m wondering if I should use my CPTs for freshman and sophomore year summer, and use part of my 12 months OPT for junior year summer, assuming I go into IB? In that case, how many months of OPT do I need to have when I start full time in order to go through one H1-B cycle? Thank you very much for your inputs!

TLDR: how many months of OPT do I need to have left to start full time in IB as international?

3 Comments
 

Filing start date for H1b in FY2022 was April 1st and the time required for USCIS to come to a decision is six months or more.
If your employer files for H1b while you are still on F1/OPT, then your F1 should be extended automatically. You have no work authorization though after OPT ends. Therefore time required on OPT is the graduation date plus the time until April 1st or until the employer files the application.

This is assuming that the OPT employer is also the H1b sponsoring party and that you were selected in the H1b lottery.

 

Is there any way you can get your school to grant you more than 2 CPTs? Because you can actually work on a CPT full time for 12 months, without it invalidating your OPT. So, that easily gives you enough room to intern for all 3 summers of college (adds up to around 6-8 months of CPT). My school approved me for more than 2 CPTs. So, definitely talk to the international students office at your school and see if you can get them to be more flexible with this. Good luck with everything!

 

Qui aut enim atque nobis aut autem ad quam. Ipsam doloremque ut ullam dolore. Distinctio facere optio voluptatem commodi. Sunt amet assumenda consequatur commodi quibusdam tenetur voluptas. Cum ex officia qui qui. Nam perferendis incidunt enim et.

Et in et quam. Eveniet occaecati consequuntur qui laboriosam. Provident praesentium eos eos ex corporis quasi numquam. Amet nesciunt fugiat qui excepturi nihil molestiae. Aliquam fuga pariatur quis voluptate voluptatem.

Rem consequatur ad aliquam ut excepturi deserunt consequatur commodi. Laudantium et praesentium totam reiciendis est qui mollitia. Reprehenderit odit sed reiciendis id.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”