All students on OPT and STEM-Extension are required to report key details about their employment, their address, or other required material changes to SEVP (the Student and Exchange Visitor Program) and to DePauw through International Student Affairs.
You will use the SEVP Portal to report to SEVP and the International Student Portal to report to your sponsor, DePauw.
Reporting is mandatory for you to maintain your legal immigration status in the United States.
On or after the start date on your EAD, you will receive an email from SEVP about how to set-up your SEVP Portal account. Follow these instructions and make sure to check your spam folders (and multiple email accounts) to make sure that you receive the email.
If you have not been able to find the activation email, please communicate with International Student Affairs or refer to the SEVP Help site.
Students on 12-month post-completion OPT should report your OPT employment and any other changes within 10 days of your OPT authorization start date. Make these changes through the SEVP Portal and the International Student Portal-- and report the following updates:
If you don’t submit the required updates within 10 days, your F-1 record and status may be terminated. Please reach out to International Student Affairs.
Students on OPT have 90 days of unemployment, starting from the start date on the EAD. Unemployment days include weekend days. You should include days between jobs and before you start work (so long as the date is after your EAD start date).
Unemployment days begin counting from the start date on the EAD, even if that date is within the post-graduate grace period.
Every six months, students must validate their information through the International Student Portal.
Every year, students must submit a self-assessment report through the I-983 form describing their progress with the training undertaken through STEM-OPT. There are two assessments:
Both the student and the supervisor must sign the I-983 prior to submitting it to a member of the ISA team for review and evaluation. More information about the I-983 can be found on the I-983 Study in the States page.
There are several material changes that require reporting:
For more information, see the Study in the States STEM OPT Reporting Requirements.
If you change employers during your STEM-OPT, make sure to do the following:
If you stop working for an employer prior to the end of your 24-month STEM extension–as well as at the end of your training–you need to upload the final evaluation.
Share a copy of your I-983 with the final evaluation (page 5) filled out with International Student Affairs. This must be signed by both you and the employer.