Options After Oberlin
As international students studying on F-1 visas, there are visa issues you must consider if you wish to stay and study or work in the United States.
Upon graduation you have 60 days to plan for one of four options:
1) Return to your home country;
2) Pursue another degree at a US institution;
3) Apply for a change in visa status;
4) Obtain permission to work in the United States
Return home. This is self-explanatory! Some international students are very excited about returning home: a degree from an American institution might be a great asset in your home country, you may face less competition for jobs than you would in the US job market, and, of course, you get to return you family and friends at home.
Pursue another degree. As an F-1 visa holder you are able to maintain your visa status by transferring your SEVIS record to another US institution. In order to do that you need to apply to and be accepted at another institution, and then complete Oberlin’s SEVIS Transfer-Out Request Form, as well as the transfer in request form that your new institution is likely to provide you with. This is a very simple process and will save you from needing to pay the SEVIS fee again and obtain a new record. There are timing considerations if you plan to work or travel before entering your new school, so make sure to make an appointment to meet with the International Student advisor to go over the details if this is the option you are considering.
Apply for a change in visa status. This is the least likely of your options. Most students don’t apply for a change in status until after they’ve gone to graduate school and/or worked for a year. The most common visa status to change to is to an H1-B, temporary worker in a specialty occupation- and as you can imagine, many regulations govern this process including the requirement that an employer petition on your behalf.
Obtain authorization to work in the United States. Post Graduation Optional Practical Training (or OPT for short) is a temporary employment benefit extended to F-1 students who have been maintaining status. It’s purpose is to give these students an opportunity to earn work experience in a field directly related to their degree and it is limited to 12 months total for each degree level. There is also a 17 month STEM extension available at the end of the initial OPT period to students with degrees in STEM fields. This must be applied for separately and additional regulations apply.
Here are a few key points to keep in mind about OPT:
1) In order to apply for OPT you must be maintaining F-1 status.
2) You do NOT need to have a job offer at the time of application.
3) You may apply as early as 90 days prior to your program end date, and up to 60 days after your program end date. HOWEVER, it is in your best interest to apply early! It can take 90 days or more to receive your employment authorization document (aka EAD). So, if you want to begin working in June, you had better apply in March!
4) There is a fee to apply which is currently $380, and
5) The employment you are seeking must be directly related to your field of study, and you must obtain a faculty recommendation for your proposed employment.
This is a highly regulated benefit. More information is available here: