{"id":933,"date":"2023-05-18T15:36:29","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T20:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/?page_id=933"},"modified":"2024-02-12T08:44:36","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T14:44:36","slug":"optional-practical-training","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/support\/international-services\/employment-information\/optional-practical-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Optional Practical Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">International students in the U.S. in valid F-1 immigration status can apply for temporary permission to work off-campus in optional practical training (OPT) status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OPT employment must be directly related to your degree. You are eligible for 12 months of OPT for each level of higher education completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can complete OPT before graduation (called Pre-Completion OPT) and after you graduate (called Post-Completion OPT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You must apply for OPT through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Upon approval, you will be issued an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card which will list your dates of employment authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Apply for OPT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first step is to complete the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/OPT-Request-Form.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/OPT-Request-Form-2020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">OPT Request Form<\/a> (PDF) and work with International Student and Scholar Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then you can apply for OPT through <a href=\"https:\/\/my.uscis.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">USCIS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is highly recommended to meet with an International Advisor to review your OPT application before submitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reporting Requirements While on OPT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students on OPT are required to send the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OPT-Reporting-Form-2019.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OPT-Reporting-Form-2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OPT Reporting Form<\/a>&nbsp;(PDF) to ISSS by email at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:is@winona.edu\">is@winona.edu<\/a>&nbsp;for the following reasons:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You change your address&#8211; you must report this within 10 days of moving<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Changes in employment within 10 days of leaving a position or starting a new position<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you decide to end your OPT employment before the end date on your EAD card&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If your visa status changes while on OPT&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Future international travel \u2013 you will need a travel signature to reenter the U.S.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">STEM OPT Extension<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a 24-month <a href=\"https:\/\/studyinthestates.dhs.gov\/stem-opt-hub\/additional-resources\/stem-opt-extension-overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">STEM extension of post-completion OPT<\/a> for those F-1 non-immigrant students with certain degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be eligible for a STEM Extension, you must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Already be approved for standard post-completion OPT<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have earned a bachelor\u2019s degree or higher in a field included on the U.S. government\u2019s list of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields within the last 10 years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be employed in a paid job directly related to your field of study<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have a job or job offer from an employer who is enrolled in the U.S. government\u2019s e-Verify program<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OPT STEM Extension is a separate application to USCIS with additional requirements for both you and your employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Applications for the STEM OPT extension can be completed up to 90 days before the end of OPT until the last day of your OPT. You will need to work with International Student and Scholar Services to apply for the STEM OPT extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"panel panel--white\">\n        <div class=\"panel__container\">\n            <div class=\"panel__intro\">\n                            <div class=\"h3\">Contact International Student &amp; Scholar Services<\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n            \n<div class=\"wsu-block contact-card mb-1\">\n   <div class=\"contact-card__content\">\n       <div class=\"contact-card__title h4\">\n           Jodi Page\n       <\/div>\n       <div class=\"contact-card__subtitle h4\">\n           International Student Adviser, Designated School Official (DSO)\n       <\/div>\n       <div class=\"contact-card__description\">\n           <p>Maxwell 329<br \/>\nWarrior Success Center<\/p>\n\n       <\/div>\n       <a class=\"wsu-link contact-card__link\" href=\"mailto:jodi.page@winona.edu\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\">Email Jodi Page<\/a>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>International students can apply for temporary permission to work off-campus in optional practical training (OPT) status, which must be related to your degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":913,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[8,16],"class_list":["post-933","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-international-services","tag-kba","tag-legacy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4522,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/933\/revisions\/4522"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winona.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}