The STEM OPT extension adds 24 months of work authorization to post-completion OPT for F-1 graduates with a qualifying science, technology, engineering or math degree, but only with an employer enrolled in E-Verify that signs a Form I-983 training plan. That makes STEM OPT a job search problem as much as a filing problem: the employer has to qualify, the plan has to be signed before your school can recommend you, and the filing window is narrower than it looks. This guide covers each step for someone still looking for the right job, with every rule linked to USCIS, ICE or DHS.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your school's designated school official (DSO) is the person who confirms anything about your own record.
Who qualifies for the 24 month extension
Study in the States, the DHS site for students, lists the student requirements (last updated 25 March 2026). You must:
- be in a valid period of post-completion OPT, per USCIS;
- hold a bachelor's or higher degree in a field on the STEM Designated Degree Program List, from a school that is accredited and SEVP-certified when you apply. The field is checked against the list on the day you apply, "rather than at the time that the student received the degree";
- work for an employer "enrolled in USCIS' E-Verify" that will "guarantee the student will complete a minimum of 20 hours of work per week";
- be a "bona fide" employee of the employer signing the I-983.
Three details catch people out:
- A prior degree can count. Your most recent degree does not need to be STEM, as long as you earned a qualifying STEM degree at the bachelor's level or higher within 10 years and both schools meet the accreditation rule.
- Twice in a career, once per level. You may get the extension once per degree level and twice in total, so a bachelor's and later a master's can each support one.
- Your CIP code matters, not your major's name. The list is organized by Classification of Instructional Programs code. Check your program's code against the list; your DSO can confirm the code on your record.
Finding employers that can hire you: E-Verify
The rule that shapes your search is the employer one. The regulation, 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C), says the employer must be "enrolled in E-Verify, as evidenced by either a valid E-Verify Company Identification number" or a client company number if it uses an agent, and must remain "a participant in good standing." The same section requires the job's "duties, hours, and compensation" to be "commensurate" with what the employer gives similarly situated US workers.
That rules out a lot of what fills a new graduate's search. Because you must be a bona fide employee of the employer that signs your I-983, gig platforms and 1099 contract work generally do not fit. Handshake's AI fellowship, for example, says on its eligibility page that "F-1 students who are eligible for CPT or OPT may be eligible" but "STEM OPT is not supported."
How to check an employer in E-Verify
The government publishes an E-Verify Employer Search tool. It lists employers "currently enrolled in E-Verify," with enrollment dates, workforce size and hiring site locations by state, and USCIS says it updates the tool daily. Use it early, before you spend a week on interviews. Then read its limits:
| What you see | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Employer listed, enrolled | Good sign. Still ask HR to confirm, because the I-765 needs the exact name and Company ID |
| Not found under the brand name | Try the legal name. The tool says a DBA name returns results only if the employer gave it at enrollment |
| Listed with several hiring sites | The tool says employers choose which sites participate; confirm your site |
| No workforce size shown | Workforce size appears only if the employer reported at least five employees |
| Not listed at all | Ask the recruiter directly before investing more time |
The question to ask a recruiter is concrete: "Is the company enrolled in E-Verify, and can you share the employer name as listed in E-Verify and the Company ID for my I-765?" The Form I-765 instructions (edition 08/21/25) require exactly those two items for the STEM category.
Where STEM OPT graduates already work
ICE's 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers report counts 165,524 students participating in STEM OPT in 2024, and 95,384 who obtained STEM OPT work authorization that year, up 54 percent. Its table of top employers is a ready list of organizations that have run the I-983 process many times:
| Employer | STEM OPT students, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Amazon | 6,679 |
| 1,778 | |
| Microsoft | 1,496 |
| Meta | 1,302 |
| University of California | 1,302 |
| Walmart | 1,140 |
| Intel | 1,023 |
| Apple | 973 |
| Goldman Sachs | 962 |
| Tesla | 901 |
Every employer on that list had to be enrolled in E-Verify to host those students. The large names are crowded, though. The same logic works on a smaller scale: an employer with a few STEM OPT hires in your field already knows the paperwork, and our list of companies that sponsor H-1B is a good place to look for them.
The I-983 training plan, in plain English
Form I-983 is five pages that you and your employer fill in together and send to your DSO. Nothing goes to USCIS until the DSO has it. Here is what each section asks for:
| Section | Who fills it | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Student information | You | School, DSO, SEVIS ID, qualifying major and CIP code, requested dates |
| 2. Student certification | You | That the job relates to your STEM degree, and that you will report material changes |
| 3. Employer information | Employer | Name, EIN, NAICS code, number of US full-time employees, hours (at least 20), salary |
| 4. Employer certification | Employer | Supervision, resources, no replacement of US workers, commensurate pay, reporting duties |
| 5. Training plan | Both | Your role, your goals and objectives, how the employer supervises, how it measures progress |
| 6. Employer official certification | Employer | That it will run the plan and the periodic evaluations |
Section 5 is where most of the work is. In plain terms it asks four questions:
- Student role: what you will do and how it builds on your degree.
- Goals and objectives: the specific knowledge, skills or techniques you will gain, and the means to get them.
- Employer oversight: who supervises you and how.
- Measures and assessments: how the employer checks you are learning.
A sample goal, written for this post: "Within six months, design and ship two data pipelines in the team's production stack, reviewed by a senior engineer, applying the database and distributed systems coursework from my MS in computer science." Specific, tied to the degree and checkable.
Small employers often have never seen the form. The form itself says that employers "who already have an internal/pre-existing training plan in place may fill in the details based on that plan," which makes it easier to ask for.
When to file: a timeline table
USCIS sets two windows that must overlap. You file Form I-765 "up to 90 days before your current OPT employment authorization expires, and within 60 days of the date your designated school official (DSO) enters the recommendation" in SEVIS, per its STEM OPT page (updated 30 January 2026).
| Step | Timing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Offer from an E-Verify employer | Before anything else | 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C) |
| Complete and sign the I-983, send to your DSO | Before the DSO recommendation | Form I-983 |
| DSO enters the STEM OPT recommendation in SEVIS | Starts the 60 day clock | I-765 instructions |
| File I-765, category (c)(3)(C) | No earlier than 90 days before the OPT EAD expires, and within 60 days of the recommendation | USCIS |
| Fee | $470 online or $520 on paper (fee schedule edition of 16 October 2026) | USCIS G-1055 |
| OPT EAD expires while pending | Work authorization extends for 180 days, ending when USCIS decides | USCIS |
| Too late | Not during the 60 day grace period after OPT ends | Study in the States |
A worked example with invented dates. Your OPT card ends on 30 June 2027. The earliest you can file is 1 April 2027. If your DSO enters the recommendation on 20 March 2027, the 60 days run to 19 May 2027, so you can file between 1 April and 19 May.
Now the trap. If the recommendation went in on 15 January 2027, the 60 days would end on 16 March, before the 90 day window opens on 1 April, and no valid filing date would exist; you would need a new recommendation. So do not push your DSO to act too early: the recommendation must be no more than 60 days old on the day you file, so time it to your window.
If USCIS has not decided by 30 June and you filed on time, the 180 day extension carries you to 27 December 2027 at the latest. Check current USCIS processing times before you plan travel.
If an H-1B petition is filed for you, cap-gap may matter more than the STEM timeline. USCIS's cap-gap page says the extension "is automatic for eligible students," runs to 1 April of the fiscal year requested (or the petition's start date, if earlier), and that eligible students "may apply for a STEM OPT extension during the cap-gap extension period." Our guide to OPT to H-1B walks through it.
Unemployment days and reporting
The 150 day limit. Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E), students on the extension "may not accrue an aggregate of more than 150 days of unemployment during a total OPT period," including the first year. If you used 40 days before your first job, you have 110 left for the next 24 months, not 150. The mechanics, and what counts as employment, are in our guide to OPT unemployment days.
Your reporting duties. Study in the States lists them on its STEM OPT reporting page (updated 6 July 2026):
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Validate name, address, employer and status with your DSO | Every six months |
| Report a change, "including any loss of employment" | Within 10 days |
| Initial self-evaluation on the I-983 | At 12 months, within 10 days of the period ending |
| Final self-evaluation | At the end of the 24 months, or within 10 days of leaving an employer |
| New I-983 for a new employer | Within 10 days of starting; the new employer must be in E-Verify "before the student begins to work for pay" |
Your employer reports too. The I-983 commits the employer to tell your DSO within five business days if you leave, and it treats you as having departed if you do not report for work "for a period of five consecutive business days without the consent of the employer." If you are job hunting while employed, do not quit before your new I-983 is ready.
Answering authorization questions on applications
Almost every online application asks two questions. Here is how two employers phrase them on live postings read on 18 October 2026:
| Platform | Question as written |
|---|---|
| Greenhouse | "Are you legally authorized to work in the country in which you are applying?" |
| Greenhouse | "Do you now or will you in the future need sponsorship for employment visa status in the country in which you are applying?" (same posting) |
| Lever | "Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B, etc.)?" |
On Workday sites the questions are set by each employer, and they appear only after you create an account, so read them word for word every time.
The honest answers for most STEM OPT holders:
| Question | Usual answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Authorized to work now? | Yes | Your EAD, or a timely filed extension, authorizes work today |
| Need sponsorship now or in the future? | Yes | STEM OPT ends after 24 months; staying in the role usually needs H-1B or another sponsored status |
| Need sponsorship "now" only? | Often no, if you can start on STEM OPT | Read the exact wording; some forms only ask about the start date |
University career offices say the same. A Purdue career services page tells students that once approved for CPT, OPT or STEM OPT "you would be legally authorized to work in the U.S., so the answer is 'Yes'", and that "you would require sponsorship when your CPT/OPT/STEM OPT/AT period ends, so the answer is 'Yes'."
Answering "no" to the sponsorship question to get past a filter is a bad trade. It can surface at offer time, when the employer has to sign an I-983 or file an H-1B, and it starts the relationship with a contradiction. If a posting says it cannot sponsor, move on.
If you use ApplyEze, it reuses the work authorization answers you save once. When a required question is not covered by your saved answers, it still fills it rather than stopping the run, so that answer may not come from you. Fill in your saved answers, use dry run first, and read your receipts. Check the answers you saved whenever your status changes.
2026 changes, and what is still proposed
Several rules changed or were proposed this year. Status as of 18 October 2026:
| Rule | Status | What it means for STEM OPT |
|---|---|---|
| Removal of automatic EAD extensions (91 FR 65306) | Final, effective 14 October 2026 | Amends 8 CFR 274a.13 for renewal EADs and does not mention STEM OPT. USCIS's STEM OPT page still describes the 180 day extension, and law firm Mintz reads STEM OPT as unaffected. Confirm with your DSO |
| Optional Practical Training Fees (91 FR 64566) | Proposed 8 October 2026; comments close 9 November 2026 | $70,000 for a student's first OPT and $30,000 for "any subsequent OPT," which the text says includes a "STEM OPT extension." Paid by the school before the DSO recommendation. Not in effect |
| Fixed period of admission for F-1 (91 FR 44976) | Final, but blocked on 14 September 2026 by a federal court in Massachusetts; litigation continues | Would cut the departure period after OPT "from 60 to 30 days." Duration of status still applies |
| H-1B weighted selection (90 FR 60864) | Final, effective 27 February 2026 | Higher wage levels get more lottery entries, which matters if STEM OPT is your bridge to H-1B |
| $100,000 H-1B payment | In litigation | USCIS's H-1B page says it does not apply to a change of status granted inside the United States, the usual route from STEM OPT. A court order vacated the implementing guidance on 8 June 2026, and the First Circuit denied a stay on 24 July 2026 |
The OPT fee proposal is the one to watch. It is only a proposal, but if it is finalized as written, the cost of a STEM OPT recommendation would fall on your school, and schools would decide how to respond.