Hiring F-1 OPT students: what employers check, file and avoid in 2026

You can hire an F-1 student on Optional Practical Training (OPT) much like any other work-authorized candidate: once the student holds an approved Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and its start date has arrived, they can work, and for the standard 12 months of OPT the employer files nothing with USCIS. The job must be directly related to the student's major, post-completion OPT must average at least 20 hours a week, and the student, not the employer, applies, pays and reports to the school. As of November 2026, a new fixed-admission rule for students took effect on September 15, 2026, and a proposed OPT fee is only a proposal.

This page is written for the recruiter, agency or hiring manager. For the interview questions themselves, see work authorization questions in interviews. For what comes after OPT, see STEM OPT employer requirements and the H-1B cap-gap guide for employers.

What is OPT, and what does the employer actually do?

OPT is temporary employment authorization for F-1 students, granted by USCIS on Form I-765 after the school's Designated School Official (DSO) recommends it in SEVIS. USCIS describes up to 12 months of OPT per education level, before graduation (pre-completion), after it (post-completion), or split between the two, with pre-completion time deducted from what is left afterward. The student files and pays; the employer's role is to offer a qualifying job, complete Form I-9, and keep the start date on or after the date printed on the EAD.

The hours and documents come from the USCIS OPT page and Table 6 of M-274 Section 7.4.2. For the 12-month OPT period, the regulation puts no filing, reporting or E-Verify duty on the employer; those duties start with the STEM extension.

When can an OPT hire start work?

Not before the EAD's start date. Both the regulation and USCIS say a student may not begin OPT until the date on the approved card, and a Form I-797C receipt for a first-time EAD application is not on the M-274's list of acceptable receipts. An offer to a graduating student is therefore an offer with an uncertain start date.

1. Make the offer and state the start date as "on or after the start date of your employment authorization."
2. The student asks the DSO for a recommendation, then files Form I-765. As amended effective September 15, 2026, 8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(B)(2) allows filing up to 90 days before the program end date and no later than 30 days after it, and within 30 days of the DSO's recommendation. The requested OPT start date may be no more than 30 days after the program end date, and authorization begins on that date or the approval date, whichever is later (paragraph (f)(11)(i)(D)). USCIS's OPT web page, last reviewed in November 2024, still shows the older 60-day filing figure; the regulation controls, and the DSO advises the student.
3. Once the card arrives, confirm the start date and complete Form I-9 like any other hire.

Post-completion OPT must be completed within 14 months after the end of studies, and OPT authorization ends automatically if the student transfers schools or starts a program at another level, under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii).

What did the September 2026 fixed-admission rule change?

DHS's final rule of July 17, 2026, 91 FR 44976, effective September 15, 2026, replaced "duration of status" for F-1 students with an admission to a fixed date of up to four years. For OPT hiring, three parts matter:

• An extension of stay for post-completion OPT. A student recommended for post-completion OPT must apply for the EAD and either file for an extension of stay with USCIS or be readmitted by CBP after travel (new 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(D)). Under the transition rule in 8 CFR 214.1(m), a student who was in the United States on duration of status on September 15, 2026 and files the OPT application on or before March 18, 2027 does not need the separate extension application; DHS may extend that date in six-month steps by Federal Register notice.
• A shorter departure period. For students admitted to a fixed date, the period after a program or OPT ends is 30 days instead of 60 (8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v)); students who were already in the US on that date keep 60 days under the transition rule.
• Little else. DHS's preamble says the rule makes no substantive change to OPT or CPT outside admission and extensions, and none to H-1B cap-gap.

For the employer the work permission is still the EAD. The status filings are the student's and the DSO's, so do not ask candidates for their Form I-94 or extension paperwork during hiring.

What may a recruiter ask an OPT candidate?

The same two questions you ask everyone: whether the person is legally authorized to work in the United States, and whether they will now or in the future need sponsorship for an employment visa. The Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section FAQ says employers may ask both.

On declining to sponsor, the most specific federal guidance is a 2014 technical assistance letter about an OPT applicant whose authorization would soon end. It notes that only U.S. citizens, certain lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees are protected from citizenship status discrimination under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), so F-1 students are not, and that an employer asking about sponsorship now or in the future, or telling an applicant it will not sponsor, is unlikely to be found to discriminate on citizenship status. The same letter cautions against assumptions about a person's current status and reminds employers that every work-authorized person is protected from national origin discrimination. Technical assistance letters are not binding opinions.

The guidance cuts the other way too. IER's FAQ says an employer that prefers workers on temporary visas and fails to consider qualified U.S. citizens, nationals, recent permanent residents, refugees or asylees because of their status violates the law. A staffing job ad that says "OPT candidates only" carries that risk; so does a "no OPT" screen that is applied only to people who look or sound foreign. See citizenship status discrimination in hiring and, for posting wording, visa sponsorship language in job postings.

Which jobs qualify for OPT?

The work must be directly related to the student's major area of study; ICE publishes policy guidance on the direct relationship. SEVP's Policy Guidance 1004-03, still linked from the SEVIS Help Hub in November 2026, lists the kinds of employment allowed during regular OPT: more than one employer, short-term engagements for performing artists, contract work, self-employment, employment through an agency or consulting firm (the student must be able to show an average of at least 20 hours a week), paid work, and unpaid or volunteer work where that does not violate labor laws. Unpaid work is not allowed during the STEM extension, and an unpaid role still has to satisfy wage law; see unpaid internship rules for employers.

For agencies: when you are the employer of record you complete Form I-9, and the student reports you to the DSO as the employer. Keep the job description specific enough that the link to the degree is visible.

What if the student is unemployed, changes jobs or leaves?

During post-completion OPT, F-1 status depends on employment, and a student may not accrue more than 90 days of unemployment in total under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E). The SEVIS Help Hub says a record with no employer information counts as unemployment, and that the student, not the employer, must report a new employer, name or address change to the DSO within 10 days. The employer-reporting duty in the regulation, notice to the DSO within five business days of a termination or departure, applies to STEM OPT employers only.

How do Form I-9 and E-Verify work for an OPT hire?

• Section 1: the student enters the "Card Expires" date from the EAD as the date authorization ends (M-274 Section 7.4.2). Every entry is walked through in Form I-9 for F-1 OPT students.
• Section 2: the EAD is a List A document, but the student chooses what to present; see I-9 List A, B and C documents.
• Reverification: complete Supplement B by the expiration date. Since October 30, 2025, renewal applications in most categories no longer extend an EAD automatically (see EAD automatic extensions and Form I-9); for students, the extensions that remain are the 180-day STEM OPT extension and cap-gap, which Form I-9 for H-1B workers covers.
• E-Verify: not a condition of regular OPT. If you are enrolled, create a case for the OPT hire as for any new hire.

The M-274's Section 11.4 also says not to refuse a document or refuse to hire someone because the document has a future expiration date.

What happens when OPT ends?

Two routes run through the employer: the 24-month STEM extension, if the degree is on the STEM list and you are an E-Verify employer, and an H-1B cap petition, which can carry the student through cap-gap to October 1. Both are decisions to make before the EAD runs out. Other statuses, such as O-1, need case-by-case advice from counsel.

One proposal to watch, without assuming it will be adopted: on October 8, 2026, ICE published a proposed rule (91 FR 64566) under which an SEVP-certified school would pay $70,000 the first time it recommends a student for OPT and $30,000 for each later OPT recommendation, including STEM OPT. DHS's preamble notes that schools could pass the cost to students or employers. The comment period ends November 9, 2026, and nothing changes unless a final rule is published.

A checklist for OPT hires

• Ask every candidate the same two work authorization questions; do not ask for EADs, I-20s or I-94s before an offer.
• Write the job description so the link to the degree is clear, and keep post-completion roles at 20 hours a week or more.
• Make the start date contingent on the EAD start date, never on a receipt.
• Decide your sponsorship position in writing and apply it to everyone.
• Calendar the EAD expiration for reverification, not for screening.
• If the student may move to STEM OPT, confirm your E-Verify enrollment and Form I-983 readiness before the card expires.