International Students and OPT

Human

evilmindbulgariaOk so after graduation you have up to 2 years of OPT

I thought OPT is for 12 months only. When did that happen?

evilmindbulgariaCan they hire you for 2 years and then sponsor you for visa afterwards?

Yes they can. Usually OPT is only for one year and the company need to submit the H-1B application by April. You are valid to work under H-1B by October. As soon as the H-1B is being approved, the time between it is being approved and October, you still will be able to work (the gap period).

evilmindbulgariaOr is it still viewed as a hurdle even though you have 2 years of 'eligibility' so to say?

Smaller firms are not going to sponsor you, no matter how awesome you are. BB, MM, Elite Boutiques have no problems sponsoring you as long as you are good enough to compete with everyone else.

OPT is for one year. STEM majors with exceptional talents can get OPT for 1.5 year.

asiamoneyTypical path is to begin working on OPT starting in June/July, and then your firm will either apply for your H1-B that summer or next year after April 1 (H1-Bs are subject to a yearly cap, and depending on volume, this could be hit early or later in the year).

If you're applying to a BB or a large firm that sponsors international students, then OPT isn't a barrier. However, smaller firms that won't sponsor for H1-B visas won't take a graduate on OPT.

seems like you are an expert on this so i just wanna ask a question about my case. Because of high school credits, i can choose to graduate in aug 2014 (after taking summer classes) or Dec 2014 (after fall sem). So with the H1B visa application timeline and banking hiring season, would you advise me to graduate in aug or Dec? Thanks a lot! Btw, I am doing an ER internship at a middle market i-banking so hopefully it will make things a bit easier when applying for FT

Well, legally you cannot start working until your OPT starts/ approved even unpaid. I think one of the options is to explain the situation to the employer and try to push the start date. Also, have you checked the status of your OPT on the website? It should say if it's approved/mailed/ or missing some documents.

Hey, fellow international here. I might PM you about OPT.

But generally, there is an option to expedite OPT: https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume1-PartA-Chap…. I don't think you're covered by any of these reasons, but it could be worth a shot.

Technically you can offer to go through training unpaid, but this is a little risky. I'm not sure if there any repercussions on the firm's end for doing this, since I'm sure legally they have to pay you. I would talk to the employer and explain the situation to them.

When is your start date? I had a friend who received his OPT the day before his start date, so there's that.

You can't start your training without your EAD in hand on Day 1. The bigger/structured the firm is, the stricter they tend to be with regulations like that.

You should be receiving it soon, but I wouldn't stress out about it. I sent mine the first week of January and received it about 6 weeks later. They are a lot busier now, so it's not a big deal that you haven't received it yet, but I'd say you'll probably get it in the next 2-3 weeks.

I have not gotten it yet...although I don't quite need it lol.

i just received my approval notice... I applied mid-to-late March to the Vermont center. i don't know if this helps or not... good luck, though. i know it's quite stressful.

Thanks. As far as I know, the other people at my school who applied at the same time or later than me have received their approval. Is there any person I can speak to who can help expedite the process? the international students office at my school has not been helpful at all. I am now overseas and plan to be back in the USA only in July before work starts.

if you're starting in july, you should be fine... i applied even later for it last year for a late june start and i ended up getting it in two weeks before i started work. remember that they pretty much must be done w/ it in 90 days, so you'll get it for certain, even in worst case scenario...

did you put your case number up on the website? you can sign up for updates there and they'll let you know when it's on its way/when they approved you and such. plus, it'll tell you your current status... and if they have already sent it to you, you may see if it's in the mail or maybe do something about it if it was lost in the mail

your int'l office can't really do much about it to begin with, so don't be too pissed off they haven't been able to help... at most, they can confirm your status, but nothing really beyond that point

evilmindbulgariaThanks for the comments! Is there a possibility that they hire you only for the period of your OPT?

If you're asking whether a firm would hire you just for the OPT period without an intention/resources to sponsor your H1-B, I'd say it's unlikely, since they'd prefer to hire someone that won't have to leave after 12 months.

That said, it's possible that a firm could hire you on OPT, intending to sponsor, but then decide that they don't want to keep you on longer/sponsor your H1-B due to poor performance, hiring needs, etc.