Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a benefit of F-1 status that permits off-campus employment for the purpose of gaining practical experience in the student’s major field of study as indicated on the Form I-20.
OPT authorization allows a student to work for any employer in the United States, as long as the job duties are directly related to the student's major area of study and commensurate with the student's educational level. Practical training experiences that are unpaid are also permitted within certain limitations.
OPT is recommended by an OISS advisor, however authorization is granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Official work authorization is issued in the form of an ID card known as an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or EAD card. It may take USCIS 3-5 months or longer to approve OPT and issue an EAD card. Students must have the EAD card in hand and must wait until the start date of the EAD to begin work.
An F-1 student completing a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree in the U.S. is eligible to apply for a total of 12 months of full-time OPT at that degree level. Once a student has been authorized for 12 months of OPT at one educational level, that student only becomes eligible for another 12 months of practical training when they change to a higher educational level. For example, students who use 12 months of OPT during a master's program are eligible for another 12 months of OPT if they advance to a doctoral program, but not if they enroll in a second master's program or bachelor's program.
Students who have been authorized for 12 months of OPT based on terminal degrees, such as a PhD, are not eligible to receive additional OPT since all terminal degrees are considered equivalent in level.
OPT work authorization may be used either before or after degree completion, or a combination of the two. Students are limited to a total of 12 months of OPT authorization, including pre-completion (during degree program) and post-completion (after graduating) OPT.
A job offer is not required to apply for OPT. However, any OPT period approved by USCIS will count against the total standard 12-month period of OPT allowed per educational level, regardless of whether the student ever secured employment.
Please review detailed application information for OPT using the links above and speak to your F-1 advisor in the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) if you have any questions.
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is defined as an “an integral part of an established curriculum” and "directly related to the student's major area of study." Students must receive academic credit to participate in CPT. This may include internships, cooperative education programs, thesis research, or independent study.
Because students are required to be in good academic standing and receive academic credit for the CPT, CPT is only authorized on a semester-by-semester basis. Students will need to submit individual applications for each semester of CPT requested. Check the UNCW Academic Calendar for semester dates.
Note: If a student is completing their degree requirements in the semester they are participating in CPT, the CPT cannot extend beyond the I-20 program end date.
To apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT), students must submit a complete CPT application through the OISS Immigration Portal. After you submit your CPT application with all required documents, your OISS advisor will authorize the CPT in your SEVIS immigration record and will issue a new I-20 with CPT authorization. You must apply for CPT at least two weeks before your employment start date to allow adequate time for processing of your new I-20.
Students who would like to extend their CPT for an additional few days or weeks within the same semester may request an extension of CPT, as long as nothing will change except the CPT end date. Students requesting an extension must email their OISS F-1 advisor at least 2 weeks before the CPT end date to allow adequate time for processing of a new I-20 with the CPT extension.
Eligible students who would like to extend their CPT through the next semester must submit a separate application with new materials, as listed above, for the additional semester of CPT.
Students cannot work on CPT past the CPT end date authorized on page 2 of their I-20.