The “Cap-Gap” is the period of time between the expiration of a student’s OPT and the start date of an H-1B petition.
The “Cap” refers to the numerical limit of the number of people who can obtain H-1B status in a federal fiscal year.
April 1 marks the opening of the H-1B filing season, when USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) begins acception petitions for H-1Bs for the coming fiscal year
The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30
If a student’s H-1B is subject to the cap and their OPT (or STEM Extension) expires before September 30, the time between the EAD expiration date and October 1 is called the “cap-gap.”
Important Note: Higher education institutions, non-profit and government research organizations are exempt from the H-1B cap. They can file H-1B petitions any time of the year and are not subject to the numerical limit. Cap-exempt employers like these may plan advance to avoid any gap between OPT and the H-1B status start date. Since they are exempt from the cap, the information below is not applicable to them.
If a student meets the following criteria, they may be entitled to an extension of F-1 status and employment eligibility to cover the “Cap-Gap” period.
You have maintained your F-1 status
Your employment is subject to the H-1B cap
Your EAD expires between April 1 and September 30
The H-1B petition was filed before your EAD expired
Your employer filed an H-1B petition for “Change of Status” on or after April 1
You must get a receipt notice
As long as your H-1B application was filed with a change of status and is part of the H-1B quota, then your OPT is extended through September 30. The cap-gap extension and its work authorization ends on October 1, when the H-1B status begins.
Check with your employer to make sure that they filed your H-1B with a change of status.
Additional information can be found on the USCIS and Study in the States websites.
No. Do not leave the United States–for work obligations or any other reason–while you are waiting for your H-1B change of status to be approved. Leaving the United States will make you ineligible for the cap-gap extension.
Yes. Though you do not need an I-20 showing your cap-gap extension for your work authorization to be valid, you might want an updated copy of your I-20 anyway.
International Student Affairs can create an I-20 for you that records your cap-gap extension, so long as it is shown in your SEVIS record.
First, your H-1B petition must be officially received by USCIS. Once that is done, SEVIS is automatically updated confirming its receipt.
Then, you may submit a request through the International Student Portal.