In mid-May, the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program began to send some F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) a letter titled “Student and Exchange Visitor Program: Notice of Failure to Report Optional Practical Training Employer and Exceeding Permissible Period of Unemployment." This letter advises students they’ve “been participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) for more than 90 days but have not reported any employer information.” The notice states: “If your SEVIS record is not updated within 15 days of the date of this notice, SEVP will set your SEVIS record to “terminated”.
It is more important than ever to understand and follow F-1 requirements while on OPT; this notice indicates increased scrutiny of OPT employment records in the SEVIS database. Based on International Center and SEVIS records, most U-M OPT students are in compliance with OPT employment reporting requirements. However, the IC encourages you to review and understand your OPT employment reporting responsibility.
WHAT TO DO (U-M OPT students employed anywhere)
- Please review our summary of F-1 requirements during Post-Completion OPT or STEM Extension OPT.
- Be sure to use the M-Passport portal to timely report any changes to your OPT employment such as starting a new job, ending a current job, or modifying the information associated with current employment (such as reporting a new work site location). We recommend that you report changes within 10 business days of the change to avoid situations in which a DHS official may determine you to be out of status.
- Monitor your U-M email. If your SEVIS record shows that you are close to exceeding or have already exceeded the OPT unemployment limit, you will receive an urgent notice from the International Center, and you should follow the instructions in that email. If you receive the notice from SEVP mentioned above, immediately consult an International Center Advisor.
- If you have decided to discontinue OPT and/or have already left the US, follow these “abandoning OPT” instructions.
WHAT TO DO (Non-U-M OPT students employed by U-M)
- As a non-U-M student, work with the international office at your home institution to report any changes to your OPT employment – such as starting a new job, ending a current job, or modifying the information associated with current employment –in a timely manner.
- If you receive the notice from SEVP mentioned above, immediately consult an advisor at the international office at your home university.