While you are on OPT, you must report changes to your name, address and employment to your designated school official (DSO), and Study in the States says the report is due within 10 days of the change. You can report some changes yourself in the SEVP Portal, but anything you cannot or do not report there goes to your DSO within those 10 days. Students on the STEM OPT extension have extra reporting duties.
What the regulation requires
The federal regulation says a student granted OPT employment authorization "is required to report any change of name or address, or interruption of such employment to the DSO" for the duration of OPT (8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(i)). That paragraph does not give a number of days. For students with a 24-month STEM extension, 8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(ii) does: it says that "Within 10 days of the change, the student must report to the student's DSO" a change of legal name, address, employer name, employer address or loss of employment. For other OPT students, the 10-day figure comes from Study in the States. The SEVIS guide for schools adds that when a student is hired, "the student reports the employer information to the DSO," and that the student must report changes "to the DSO within 10 days." The DSO then has 21 days to update SEVIS, the student record system.
Reporting through the SEVP Portal
The SEVP Portal is the online account where students can see their record. Study in the States says students can use it to update physical and mailing addresses, telephone numbers and employer information, and to monitor their employment authorization. The guide says students can enter employment information using the SEVP Portal, or their DSO can update SEVIS. The employer details the portal asks for include:
- Employer name and address, and job title.
- Full-time or part-time status.
- Employment start and end dates. A start date cannot come before the start date on the OPT authorization.
- How the job relates to the field of study.
Some limits apply. Students cannot change the email address on their portal account; the DSO must update it in SEVIS. Study in the States also says students can change contact and employment information in the portal up to 15 days after the end date of their OPT.
What goes to the DSO instead
The SEVIS guide says anything the student cannot or does not report via the SEVP Portal "must be reported to their designated school official (DSO) within 10 days." Wrong employment authorization details in the portal are also a DSO matter: Study in the States says users should contact their DSO.
Extra duties on the STEM OPT extension
For the 24-month extension, the pages we read list these requirements:
- Changes within 10 days. The SEVIS guide lists "Any changes in the student's legal name, address, employer, or employment status within 10 days of the change," and the regulation sets the same 10-day period.
- New employers. STEM OPT participants cannot add employers in the portal. Study in the States says "By regulation, STEM OPT participants must send a completed Form I-983 to their DSO."
- Validation reports. The SEVIS guide says students make a "6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month validation report" to the DSO. The regulation says the validation report is due to the DSO "within 10 business days of each reporting date," and USCIS says to report to your DSO "every 6 months to confirm the information listed above, even if none of your information has changed."
- End of employment. The Study in the States SEVP Portal help page says STEM OPT students "Have ten days to report the end of employment" and "Must send their DSO the final evaluation within ten days of their last day of work." The employer must report the end of employment or departure to the DSO "no later than five business days" after it happens, according to the regulation and the employer reporting page.
The regulation states that "Compliance with these reporting requirements is required to maintain F-1 status." Our guide to the Form I-983 training plan covers the evaluations in more detail.
A quick checklist from the sources above
- You start a job: report the employer information to your DSO, or enter it in the SEVP Portal if you are not on STEM OPT.
- Your address or legal name changes: report it within 10 days.
- Employment stops or is interrupted: report it, and on STEM OPT expect the 10-day and five-business-day clocks described above.
- You are on STEM OPT: calendar the validation reports and the six-month confirmation with your DSO.
Why accurate reporting matters
The employer information you report is what SEVIS uses to count unemployment days. Our guide to the OPT unemployment limit explains how. Our OPT hub has the wider overview.
Common questions
Is the SEVP Portal enough, or do I also tell my DSO?
The SEVIS guide says students can report through the portal or have the DSO update SEVIS. Anything not reported through the portal must go to the DSO within 10 days. If you are unsure whether a change went through, tell your DSO.
What if nothing has changed?
For students on the STEM extension, USCIS says to report to your DSO every 6 months "even if none of your information has changed."
Can I add a new employer in the portal on STEM OPT?
No. Study in the States says the "Add Employer" button does not appear for STEM OPT participants, who send a completed Form I-983 to their DSO instead.
How fast must my DSO update SEVIS?
The SEVIS guide says "DSOs have 21 days from the date the student reports a change."
Official sources
- Study in the States: Add, Edit, Delete OPT Employer
- Study in the States: SEVIS and the SEVP Portal
- Study in the States: Update Employer Information (SEVP Portal Help)
- USCIS: STEM OPT Extension
- Study in the States: F-1 STEM OPT Extension
- Study in the States: Employers, STEM OPT Reporting Requirements
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2
GreenLight is not affiliated with USCIS or the U.S. government. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.