STEM Optional Practical Training

RISD majors that are currently STEM-eligible are:

• Architecture
• Art & Computation
• Digital + Media
• Graphic Design
• Industrial Design
• Interior Architecture
• Landscape Architecture
• Sound

If you completed a degree in a STEM field at an Student Exchange and Visitor Exchange Program (SEVP)-certified school within the past 10 years but prior to attending RISD, you may still be eligible for a STEM extension.

In addition to having completed a STEM-designate degree, you must have a job offer or be working for an employer registered with E-Verify, a federal employment verification system.

You and your employer must complete Form I-983—Training Plan for STEM OPT students. The Department of Homeland Security provides a guide to completing the I-983 that you will find under “Employer Responsibilities and Obligations for STEM OPT.”

Any employment you take while on the STEM OPT extension must meet the following criteria:

• The position is paid and is for at least 20 work hours per week.
• The employer is registered on E-Verify.
• The position must be related to the STEM program major listed under “Program of Study” on your I-20. You are responsible for drawing a connection between your position and the skills or knowledge learned in your STEM degree.
• Your employer directly supervises and pays you. You cannot be paid by a third party or staffing agency, or work at a location other than your employer’s place of business. For more information, please see “The Employer’s Training Obligation: Staffing and Temporary Agencies” from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
• You can not be paid through an external fellowship if you are working in an academic environment.  For example, you cannot use STEM for a postdoctoral position for which you are not paid directly by the host institution.
• You cannot begin work for any new employer without completing an I-983 training plan and submitting the form to our office. 
• You cannot have more than 150 days of unemployment time during the entire period of post-completion OPT (regular post-completion OPT and 24-month extension combined).
• You cannot work in a self-employed/freelance/independent contractor capacity.
• You cannot volunteer or work in an unpaid position

If you are working for more than one employer, each position requires a completed I-983 training plan and must meet each of the above criteria.

You can submit your complete STEM OPT application to USCIS up to 90 days before your current OPT period expires, as noted on your employment authorization document card (EAD), and no more than two weeks before the end of your current OPT.

The application can take approximately 90–120 days for USCIS to process. If USCIS receives your application on or after your OPT end date, they will deny your STEM OPT extension request.

You must request an I-20 with a STEM OPT extension recommendation from International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA), to be included with your your STEM OPT application, or USCIS will reject your request. You can submit a STEM OPT I-20 request from us up to 120 days before your OPT end date. Please allow 2-3 weeks for processing, including time for any necessary document edits by you or your employer.

Application steps for STEM OPT (with more details available via the required Canvas courses in step one):

1. Complete required STEM OPT Canvas course
2. Gather and upload required documents to the "STEM OPT I-20 Request" in your Terra Dotta student portal. You will need to complete a quiz related to the Canvas course as part of the request. Submit your request form to ISSA. Required documents are:
   • Completed Form I-983 training plan. (Visit Study in the States for I-983 instructions. For application help, see our guide to completing the I-983.
   • Form I-765.
   • Copy of your current EAD card (front and back).
   • Copy of your valid passport.
   • Copy of your current F-1 visa.
   • Copy of your most recent I-94 record.
3. Receive your new STEM OPT I-20. This is very important: Do not submit your application to USCIS without a STEM OPT I-20. If you do, your application will be rejected. We will issue a new I-20 with a STEM OPT extension recommendation for you to then submit your STEM OPT application to USCIS. Allow 2–3 weeks for processing, including time for necessary edits by you or your employer.
4. Finalize your materials and submit your STEM OPT application to USCIS. Be sure to include your STEM OPT I-20 with your application. Important: USCIS must receive your STEM OPT application within 60 days of the issue date of your STEM extension I-20, but no later than the expiration of your current OPT period, as noted on your EAD. USCIS will reject your application if they receive it outside of this time frame.
5. Receive receipt, approval notice and STEM EAD. Form I-797C—“Notice of Action (receipt)”—will be mailed to the address you provide on Form I-765. This receipt indicates the date on which USCIS received your application as well as a receipt number that allows you to track the status of your application. If you anticipate changing addresses, note that the US Postal Service will not forward mail from USCIS. Please update USCIS and ISSA with any address changes.

Your evidence of STEM OPT extension approval is a new EAD card and a Form I-797 approval notice. You should receive these within 90–120 days of the receipt date listed on your receipt notice. If you do not receive your EAD within the normal processing time, follow up with USCIS by telephoning the number on your receipt notice. Once you receive your EAD, provide our office with a copy.

If you are granted a STEM OPT Extension, you must satisfy additional federal reporting requirements. If you do not satisfy these requirements, your F-1 status will automatically be invalidated.

1. Six-month data validation: Every six months you must confirm via the Terra Dotta student portal that your SEVIS record accurately reflects your current circumstance. As part of this six-month reporting, you must confirm that your SEVIS information correctly identifies your:
   • Legal name
   • Residential or mailing address
   • Employer name and address

   • Status of current employment

     SEVP Portal users will receive a reminder via email 30 days before any validation report is due. Please note that STEM OPT students must report a change in this information, including any loss of employment, within 10 days of the change.

2. Annual self-valuation: You must complete and submit to your designated school official (DSO) an annual self-evaluation describing the progress of your training experience through the Terra Dotta student portal. You must also ensure that the DSO receives the assessment no later than 10 days following the conclusion of the training period and need to submit the assessments for the stated periods:
   1. Initial: 12 months after the STEM OPT start date

   • Final assessment that recaps the training and knowledge acquired during the complete, 24 month training period.

     SEVP portal users will receive a reminder via email 30 days before your self-evaluation is due. You must complete an assessment at the conclusion of the training opportunity, usually a final assessment due at 24 months, but possibly at any time during the period of authorized employment when employment ends. You must submit this final assessment within 10 days after your training opportunity concludes.

     Material Changes to an Existing Form I-983
     Each STEM OPT student must report within 10 days to their DSO any material changes to, or material deviations from, the student’s formal training plan by submitting an OPT Employer Update Request in the Terra Dotta student portal. Students are also required to report to ISSA if their employer is not abiding by the terms of the Training Plan.
     
     Material changes or deviations from the original Form I-983 may include, but are not limited to:

     • Any change of the employer’s EIN.
     • Any reduction in student compensation that is not tied to a reduction in hours worked.
     • Any significant decrease in hours per week that a student engages in a STEM training opportunity.
     • Changes to the employer’s commitments or student’s learning objectives as documented on the Form I-983.

      

     So long as the STEM OPT student and employer meet the regulatory requirements and the modified Form I-983 meets the specified requirements, the student’s employment authorization will not cease based on a change to the plan. STEM OPT students must provide the following information to ISSA every six months AND within 10 days of any change:

     • Legal name
     • Residential and mailing address
     • E-mail address
     • Telephone Number
     • Employer name
     • Employer address
     • Employer EIN
     • Job title or position
     • Average number of hours worked per week (must be at least 20 hours)
     • Supervisor’s name
     • Supervisor’s telephone number
     • Supervisor’s email
     • Employment start-date
     • Employment end-date