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Tools

What you can fill out today

One form is built and ready. It is the one that takes longest by hand, and the one most people get stuck on.

I-983DSOFill out Form I-983Your STEM OPT training plan, Sections 1–6, with your employer’s part by link.~10 min
Where it fits

OPT paperwork is a sequence, not one form.

Over about three years you fill in a few different forms. Here is the order, so you can see which stage you are in.

  1. OPTAfter you graduate

    One form: I-765, sent to USCIS. First your DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS and gives you a new I-20. This is the twelve months of work everyone means by "OPT".

    We haven’t built Form I-765 yet.

  2. STEM OPTThe 24-month extension

    Two forms. The I-983 training plan goes to your DSO — not USCIS — and a second I-765 goes to USCIS. You and your employer each fill in part of the I-983, and you both sign it.

    You can fill out Form I-983 here.We haven’t built the second Form I-765 yet.

  3. 12-month check-inA year into the extension

    You write a short self-evaluation on the same I-983, your employer signs it, and it goes to your DSO.

    We haven’t built the 12-month evaluation yet.

  4. Final check-inAt the end of the 24 months

    One last evaluation. You also start a new I-983 any time the job changes — a different employer, different hours, different pay, or a new supervisor.

    We haven’t built the final evaluation yet.

Not sure which stage you’re in? Ask your DSO — they decide what you can file, and they will tell you which form you need. We prepare the paperwork.

Not built yet

What we are working on next.

None of these work yet, so there is nothing here to press. They are listed so you can see what is coming, and roughly when in your three years you would want it.

OPTAfter you graduate

  • I-765 for OPT — Post-completion OPT application, with an evidence checklist. What it asks for
  • Deadline calculator — Filing windows and evaluation dates, worked out from your own dates.
  • OPT evidence checklist — Everything to include with your I-765. Printable.

STEM OPTThe 24-month extension

  • 12-month evaluation — The self-evaluation page of the I-983, due a year in. What it asks for
  • New employer I-983 — Changed jobs? Duplicate your plan and swap the employer. What it asks for
  • I-765 for STEM OPT — The (c)(3)(C) extension, with the E-Verify fields. What it asks for
  • Final evaluation — The last I-983 page, at the end of your 24 months.
  • Deadline calculator — Filing windows and evaluation dates, worked out from your own dates.
  • OPT evidence checklist — Everything to include with your I-765. Printable.