Post-study work visa in United States
Graduate work route
OPT (Optional Practical Training)
Duration: 1 year (3 years for STEM)
Starting salary signal
$60,000–100,000
Employment rate: 72%
Work rights and hiring sectors
During study: 20 hrs/week on campus only. Minimum wage signal: $7.25–15+/hr (varies by state).
PR pathway context
H-1B → Green Card (EB-2/EB-3) · typical time to eligibility: 5–15+ years.
- Employer sponsorship for H-1B
- H-1B lottery selection (annual cap)
- PERM labor certification for Green Card
- Priority date wait (varies by country)
The US has no single post-study work visa. Instead, F-1 graduates apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), which gives 12 months of work in their field for a $470 online filing fee, and STEM graduates can add a 24-month STEM OPT extension, making 36 months in total. To stay longer you need an employer to win an H-1B for you in the annual lottery, which is capped at 65,000 plus 20,000 places reserved for US master's graduates and, since 2026, weighted towards higher wage levels.
Is there a post-study work visa in the USA?
Not in the way the UK Graduate visa or Australia's Temporary Graduate visa works. The US lets F-1 students stay and work after graduation through practical training authorised under the same student status: Optional Practical Training (OPT) for 12 months, and the STEM OPT extension for a further 24 months if your degree is on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. You remain an F-1 student on paper, your university's designated school official (DSO) keeps your SEVIS record, and USCIS issues an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card that lets any employer hire you.
The numbers show how central this route is: Open Doors 2025 counted 294,253 international students on OPT in 2024/25, up 21% in a year, alongside 1,177,766 enrolled international students, of whom 363,019 were from India. For most Indian MS graduates the plan is OPT, then STEM OPT, then an H-1B petition filed by the employer, and eventually an employer-sponsored green card. Each step has a deadline and a fee, and missing a window costs you the whole pathway.
Two features make this different from other countries. First, you apply while still in the US, from inside your student status, with no consular interview. Second, the long-term step, the H-1B, is a lottery controlled by your employer, not an application you can make yourself, so the job you land during OPT matters more than anything else.
OPT, STEM OPT and H-1B at a glance: duration, fees and deadlines
| Stage | Duration | Government fee (USD → INR) | Key deadline or condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curricular Practical Training (CPT) during the course | Per internship; part time ≤ 20 hrs/week, full time > 20 | None (DSO authorises in SEVIS) | After one full academic year (graduate exception); 12 months of full-time CPT cancels OPT eligibility |
| Pre-completion OPT | Counts against the 12 months | $470 online / $520 paper (≈ ₹45,000 / ₹49,800) | Apply up to 90 days before completing a full academic year; ≤ 20 hrs/week while school is in session |
| Post-completion OPT | 12 months per higher degree level | $470 online / $520 paper | File I-765 90 days before to 60 days after the programme end date, and within 30 days of the DSO recommendation; max 90 days unemployed |
| STEM OPT extension | +24 months (36 total) | $470 online / $520 paper | File up to 90 days before OPT expires and within 60 days of the DSO recommendation; E-Verify employer; Form I-983; 150 days total unemployment |
| Premium processing of I-765 (optional) | Faster decision | $1,780 (≈ ₹1.7 lakh) | Paid in addition to the filing fee |
| H-1B registration | Lottery in March | $215 per beneficiary, paid by employer (≈ ₹20,600) | FY 2027 window: 4–19 March 2026; selection weighted by wage level from FY 2027 |
| H-1B petition (Form I-129), employer pays | Up to 3 years, extendable to 6 | $780 paper / $730 online + $600 asylum program fee + $500 fraud fee + $750 or $1,500 ACWIA fee; $4,000 for some large H-1B-dependent employers | Filed from 1 April for a 1 October start; premium processing $2,965 |
| Cap-gap extension | To 1 April of the following year | None | Timely H-1B petition with a start date between 1 Oct and 1 Apr, filed while you are in valid F-1/OPT status |
Sources: USCIS OPT and STEM OPT pages; Study in the States OPT, CPT and cap-gap pages; USCIS fee schedule G-1055 (edition 09/09/26); USCIS H-1B registration and cap-season pages, all read 26 Sep 2026. $1 = ₹95.8.
How to apply for OPT after graduating in the USA: step by step
Start the process in the semester before you graduate. USCIS processing takes weeks to months, you cannot work until the EAD card start date, and the 90-day unemployment clock starts on the EAD start date whether or not you have a job.
Pick your OPT start date (up to 4 months before graduating)
Post-completion OPT cannot start before your programme end date. The official deadline is for filing, not starting: the I-765 window runs from 90 days before to 60 days after the programme end date, so check the requested start date with your DSO. Choose a start date that gives you time to find work without burning unemployment days; many Indian graduates pick 30–45 days after the end date.
Ask your DSO for the OPT recommendation
The DSO updates your SEVIS record and issues a new Form I-20 with the OPT recommendation on page 2. You must file the I-765 within 30 days of this recommendation, so do not request it until you are ready to file.
File Form I-765 online
Create a USCIS online account, select category (c)(3)(B), upload the I-20 with the recommendation, passport, visa, I-94, previous EADs if any, and a passport-style photo, and pay $470. Paper filing costs $520 and is slower. The window is 90 days before to 60 days after the programme end date; USCIS must receive it inside that window.
Wait for the receipt and the EAD
Keep the receipt notice; you may not start work until the start date printed on the EAD card, even if you have a job offer. If you need a decision fast, premium processing costs $1,780 in addition to the filing fee.
Report your employer within 10 days
Once you start work, report the employer name, address and start date to your DSO (most universities use the SEVP Portal). Every day without qualifying employment after the EAD start date counts towards the 90-day limit; post-completion OPT work must be at least 20 hours a week and related to your degree, and a SEVIS record with no employer listed is treated as unemployment.
Plan the STEM extension from month 7
If your degree CIP code is STEM-designated and your employer is enrolled in E-Verify, complete Form I-983 with the employer, get the DSO recommendation on a new I-20, and file a second I-765 (category (c)(3)(C)) up to 90 days before OPT expires and within 60 days of the recommendation. Your work authorisation continues for up to 180 days while it is pending if you filed on time.
Get into the H-1B registration in March
Ask your employer's immigration counsel to register you in the March window ($215). If you are selected, the employer files the I-129 from 1 April for a 1 October start. If your OPT or STEM OPT would expire between 1 April and 1 October, the cap-gap rule extends your F-1 status and work authorisation until 1 April of the following year while the petition is pending.
Which rules trip up Indian graduates on OPT and STEM OPT?
- Unemployment days: 90 on OPT, and a further 60 on the STEM extension for 150 in total. The count is cumulative across both periods and includes gaps between jobs. Once exceeded, you are out of status and the cap-gap and STEM extension are lost.
- Job must relate to the degree: OPT work has to be directly related to your major. Keep a written explanation of how each role relates; USCIS and the DSO can ask for it, and it matters for the STEM I-983 plan.
- STEM OPT employer conditions: the employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, sign the Form I-983 training plan, pay a wage comparable to US workers, and maintain a bona fide employer-employee relationship. Self-employment and most staffing-agency placements without on-site supervision do not qualify.
- Reporting: on STEM OPT you must report changes of name, address, email or employer to your DSO within 10 days and report to the DSO every six months even if nothing has changed. Missing a report can terminate the record.
- Travel: re-entering the US on OPT requires a valid F-1 visa, the EAD, a job offer or proof of employment, and a recent travel signature from your DSO on your I-20. Indian graduates whose F-1 visa foil has expired must attend a new consular interview to return, and interview waivers are no longer available for F-1 renewals.
- CPT cannibalises OPT: 12 months or more of full-time CPT during your course wipes out OPT eligibility at that degree level. Part-time CPT does not. Universities that offer "day-one CPT" carry both compliance risk and this trade-off.
- Taxes: F-1 students, including those on OPT and STEM OPT, are exempt from Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes as nonresident aliens for their first five calendar years in the US. Employers often deduct them anyway; ask the employer to refund the withholding, or claim it back from the IRS.
How does the H-1B lottery work in 2026, and what changed for Indian graduates?
The H-1B is the employer-sponsored work visa for specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree. Congress caps new H-1Bs at 65,000 a year, with 20,000 additional places for beneficiaries holding a US master's degree or higher. Employers register each candidate electronically in March for $215; for FY 2027 the window ran from 4 to 19 March 2026 and petitions for selected beneficiaries could be filed from 1 April. USCIS announced on 17 July 2026 that it had received enough petitions to reach both caps, so no second selection round followed. For comparison, FY 2026 drew 343,981 eligible registrations and 120,141 selections.
Two changes reshape the odds. Since 2024 selection is "beneficiary-centric": each person is entered once no matter how many employers register them, which ended the multiple-registration advantage. From FY 2027, selection is also weighted by wage level: registrations at Department of Labor OEWS wage level IV are entered four times, level III three times, level II twice and level I once. A new graduate offered a level I salary still has a chance, but a graduate whose employer offers level III or IV pay is three to four times as likely to be picked. Negotiating a higher wage level, or targeting roles in lower-cost metros where a given salary sits at a higher level, now has direct visa value.
A Presidential Proclamation of 19 September 2025 added a $100,000 payment for certain new H-1B petitions filed from 21 September 2025, aimed at beneficiaries outside the US. USCIS's own FAQ records that on 8 June 2026 the US District Court for Massachusetts vacated the agency guidance implementing the payment and that on 24 July 2026 the First Circuit refused to stay that order, so USCIS states it is complying with the court while considering next steps. Petitions to change status for F-1 students already in the US were not the target of the proclamation in any case. Watch this space: the position can change with a further court ruling.
If selected and approved, you move to H-1B status on or after 1 October for up to three years, extendable to six, and your employer can sponsor a green card in parallel. If you are not selected, you can try again each March while you hold valid OPT or STEM OPT, which is why the 36-month STEM window matters: it gives up to three lottery attempts. Cap-exempt employers, mainly universities, non-profit research organisations and their affiliates, can file H-1Bs at any time without the lottery, and the O-1 for people of extraordinary ability is an alternative for strong researchers.
How much can you earn on OPT, and does the pathway pay back an Indian education loan?
OPT wages are ordinary US salaries: employers must pay at least the applicable minimum wage, and on STEM OPT the I-983 requires pay comparable to similarly employed US workers. Universities publish their own graduate outcome data; the honest summary is that engineering, computer science and analytics graduates who secure full-time roles in their field typically earn several times the total annual cost of their programme, while unemployment gaps and roles outside the field are the main risk.
Because F-1 students are exempt from the 7.65% FICA payroll taxes for their first five calendar years, take-home pay on OPT is higher than for a resident colleague on the same salary. Federal and state income tax still apply, and you file Form 1040-NR each spring. Once you become a resident for tax purposes, usually after five calendar years in the US, FICA applies.
For loan planning, model three scenarios: OPT only (12 months of US income, then return to India or move to another country), OPT plus STEM OPT (36 months), and H-1B selection. A ₹50–60 lakh education loan is comfortably serviceable in the second and third scenarios; in the first it depends on the Indian or third-country salary you return to. Choosing a STEM-designated programme and a mid-cost city is the cheapest insurance against the first scenario.
The 36 months are a countdown, not a cushion
Frequently asked questions
How long can I stay in the USA after completing my masters?
You have a 60-day grace period after your programme end date, or up to 36 months of authorised work if you use it: 12 months of Optional Practical Training plus a 24-month STEM OPT extension for degrees on the DHS STEM list. After that you need an approved H-1B or another status; the cap-gap rule bridges OPT to an H-1B start on 1 October.
What is the OPT fee and when should I apply?
Form I-765 costs $470 filed online or $520 on paper, about ₹45,000 or ₹49,800, and the same again for the STEM extension. File between 90 days before and 60 days after your programme end date, within 30 days of your DSO's recommendation. Premium processing is available for an extra $1,780 if you need a fast decision.
Which degrees qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension?
Degrees whose CIP code appears on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, which covers most engineering, computer science, mathematics, physical and life sciences programmes and many analytics and information-systems master's. You must also work for an E-Verify employer under a Form I-983 training plan, and the degree must be from an accredited, SEVP-certified school.
How many days can I be unemployed on OPT?
A maximum of 90 days during the 12-month post-completion OPT period, counted from the start date on your EAD. The STEM OPT extension adds 60 days, for 150 days in total across both periods. Exceeding the limit puts you out of status, so report every employer to your DSO within 10 days and keep the gaps short.
What are my chances in the H-1B lottery with a US masters?
Better than with a foreign degree: a US master's gives you a second draw through the 20,000 advanced-degree exemption on top of the 65,000 regular cap. Since FY 2027 selection is also weighted by wage level, with level IV entered four times and level I once. FY 2026 saw 343,981 eligible registrations for 120,141 selections; FY 2027 reached both caps by July 2026.
Does the $100,000 H-1B fee apply to F-1 students changing status?
The September 2025 proclamation targeted new H-1B petitions for workers entering from abroad, not students already in the US changing status. In any case USCIS's FAQ records that a federal court vacated the implementing guidance on 8 June 2026 and the First Circuit declined to stay that order on 24 July 2026, so USCIS is not collecting the payment while it considers next steps.
What is the cap-gap extension for F-1 students?
If your employer files a timely H-1B cap petition for you while you are in valid F-1 or OPT status, with a start date between 1 October and 1 April of the following year, DHS automatically extends your F-1 status and any OPT work authorisation until 1 April of the following year while the petition is pending or approved. Your DSO can issue an updated I-20 showing the extension.
Can I do OPT twice, after a bachelor's and again after a master's?
Yes. Twelve months of regular OPT is available at each higher degree level, so an Indian student who completes a US bachelor's and then a US master's can use OPT after each. A STEM OPT extension can be earned again on a later, higher STEM degree, but never twice on the same degree. Pre-completion OPT used during a course is deducted from that level's 12 months.
Official sources used on this page
- USCIS — Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 students — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — STEM OPT extension — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- Study in the States — F-1 Optional Practical Training (90-day unemployment limit) — US Department of Homeland Security · checked 26 September 2026
- Study in the States — F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) — US Department of Homeland Security · checked 26 September 2026
- Study in the States — H-1B status and the cap-gap extension — US Department of Homeland Security · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — Form I-765 (filing windows for OPT categories) — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — Fee schedule G-1055 (edition 09/09/26): I-765, I-907, I-129, H-1B registration — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — H-1B specialty occupations (cap, duration, proclamation) — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — H-1B cap season (FY 2027 weighted selection) — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — H-1B electronic registration process ($215 fee, FY 2027 dates, FY 2026 numbers) — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — USCIS reaches fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap (17 Jul 2026) — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- USCIS — H-1B FAQ (Proclamation $100,000 payment and 8 Jun 2026 court order) — US Citizenship and Immigration Services · checked 26 September 2026
- Open Doors 2025 — International students and OPT participants (2024/25) — Institute of International Education / US Department of State · checked 26 September 2026
- IRS — Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes — Internal Revenue Service · checked 26 September 2026
- Wise — USD to INR mid-market rate — Wise · checked 26 September 2026
Official sources
Visa rules change. Always confirm the latest requirements for United States on the government portals below before you apply.
- U.S. Department of State — Student visa (F-1 / M-1) — official immigration authority for international students
- ICE SEVP — Practical training (OPT / CPT) — post-study work rights, duration and eligibility after graduation
Last reviewed: September 2026
Map United States post-study work options to your degree.
Share your phone or email — a NexStudy counselor will map universities, budget, timeline, and next steps.
Free counsellor plan
Soft gate — answer stays visible