Talking With Your Employer About OPT / CPT / H1B

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D O E S I T M A T T E R W H A T A J O B I S C A L L E D ?

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O P T O R C P T — W H I C H ?

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T H I N G S T O T A L K A B O U T W I T H Y O U R P O T E N T I A L E M P L O Y E R

What Do You Call It?

      Internship Co-op Full-time job Temporary employment Depending on your situation and your employer’s plans for you, any of these can be either CPT or OPT.

Apprenticeship Etc.

Have you already used 364 days of CPT?

Are you a graduate student or an undergraduate?

Have you completed your degree?

Is the STEM extension important to you?

Does your employer plan to sponsor a petition for an H1-B for you?

Do you need the co-op credits to graduate?

Pros & Cons – Which To Choose?

  CPT  Approval is fairly quick and easy   No cost for applying Limited to 364 days  Only available before you graduate OPT   Approval takes 2-3 months Application costs $340   Pre-completion doesn’t come with ‘extensions’ Post-completion OPT has extensions available

Things To Talk About With Your Potential Employer  Yes, you are eligible to accept employment in the US. (Most employers will ask. Know the right answer!)  CPT means you have to come back to Tech to finish – a course, a defense, something. Let your employer know what you have to do to finish.

 While the average time it takes for the EAD to arrive is predictable, some cards take longer; you may not work until the card is in hand. Can your employer wait?

 Is the employer registered with E-Verify (so that you can apply for a STEM extension)?

More Things To Talk About With Your Potential Employer  Will the employer consider sponsoring you for an H1-B?

 Will there be time to finish your project/ thesis / dissertation while you’re working? Why is this important?

  You must have a US degree completed to be eligible for an H1-B visa. If you go out on post-completion OPT without finishing your thesis/dissertation, you must finish it before the OPT expires.

 Does the employer have a Legal Office or Human Resources Office experienced in working with visa issues?

More Things To Talk About With Your Potential Employer Be sure to take one of my cards with you. You are more than welcome to ask your employer to call me if s/he has questions about OPT or CPT regulations.