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DHS/USICE RIN: 1653-AA56 Publication ID: Spring 2009 
Title: Extending Period for Optional Practical Training by 17 Months for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students With STEM Degrees and Expanding the CAP-GAP Relief for All F-1 Students With Pending H-1B Petitions 
Abstract: Currently, foreign students in F-1 nonimmigrant status who have been enrolled on a full-time basis for at least one full academic year in a college, university, conservatory, or seminary certified by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) are eligible for 12 months of optional practical training (OPT) to work for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the student’s major area of study. This interim final rule extends the maximum period of OPT from 12 months to 29 months for F-1 students who have completed a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree and accept employment with employers enrolled in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS’) E-Verify employment verification program. This interim final rule also requires the employers of F-1 students with an extension of post-completion OPT authorization to report to the student’s designated school official (DSO) within 48 hours after the OPT student has been terminated from, or otherwise leaves, his or her employment with that employer prior to end of the authorized period of OPT. This rule also ameliorates the so-called “cap-gap” problem by extending the authorized period of stay for all F-1 students who have a properly filed H-1B petition and change of status request (filed under the cap for the next fiscal year) pending with USCIS. If USCIS approves the H-1B petition, the students will have an extension that enables them to remain in the United States until the requested start date indicated in the H-1B petition takes effect. This interim final rule also implements some programmatic changes, including clarifying that a school DSO must determine if the position for which the student seeks OPT is related to the student’s field of study and allowing students to apply for OPT within 60 days of concluding their studies. 
Agency: Department of Homeland Security(DHS)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage 
Major: Undetermined  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 8 CFR 214   
Legal Authority: 8 USC 1101 to 1103    8 USC 1182    8 USC 1184 to 1187    8 USC 1221    8 USC 1281 and 1282    8 USC 1301 to 1305   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
Interim Final Rule  04/08/2008  73 FR 18944   
Interim Final Rule Comment Period End  06/09/2008    
Final Rule  07/00/2009    
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: None 
Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Information URL: www.dhs.gov/sevis/  
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Tim Hanes
Student and Exchange Visitor Program
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Potomac Center North, 500 12th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20024-6121
Phone:703 603-3418