Residency Visa Options Part 3: F1-OPT

This will be the last of the 3 posts on residency visa options. For more information on the J1 and H1B visas, please see Residency Visa Options Part 1 and Part 2.

What is F-1 OPT?

Most students who are currently attending medical school in the US are on a F-1 student visa. F-1 visa holders have the option of applying for optional practical training (OPT) and can receive up to 12 months of time to obtain employment in an area that is directly related to the F-1 student's major area of study. Students can use the OPT employment authorization to work either before completing their academic studies (pre-completion) and/or after completing their academic studies (post-completion). However the total amount of employment time cannot exceed 12 months.

For medical students，the 12 months of OPT is a great option to pursue for the first year of residency (ie. intern/prelim year) after graduating. During this time, people then do the USMLE step 3 and gather the necessary documents to apply for an H1B visa. Because the H1B visa can take a long time to obtain, having the OPT extension after graduating is a major advantage for medical students in the US. Although most people use OPT to transition to H1Bs, transitioning from OPT to a J1 visa is also possible.

Note that there is also a STEM-OPT option for students who are in STEM fields. It usually does not apply to those studying medicine and we will not be discussing it here.

How to Apply for OPT

Applications for OPT are initiated through your the designated school official (DSO) at the academic institution affiliated with one's medical school. Usually, this will be someone from the school's international students' office. The designated school official will make a recommendation for OPT by endorsing the student's Form I-20 (certification of eligibility of nonimmigrant student status) and update this recommendation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.

Once this is done, applicants file the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and submit it to the USCIS together with the required fee and supporting documentation (which includes ID photos, current confirmation of enrollment at the student's academic institution, updated I20, amongst others).

When to apply

For students who apply for post-completion OPT, the application must be (1) mailed within 30 days of the DSO entering the OPT recommendation into the SEVIS record, and (2) applied up to 90 days before the completion of one's degree, but no later than 60 days after completion of one's degree. For the case of using OPT for residency, it is important to apply as early as possible. OPT applications can take months to process and it's important to have the OPT approved before residency starts (see below).

What happens after

After submitting all the documents, the waiting period then begins. OPT processing times can take between 2 months to 6 months or longer, with the average being 3 months. One can track the status of their application online, however, there is no way of finding out how long an application will take to be approved.

Note, F-1 students can only start working after the USCIS approves the Form I-765 and after the student received the physical copy of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card. Therefore, it's important to apply for OPT as early as possible (90 days before the graduation date) to avoid delaying one's residency start date.

Final Notes

Last but not least, remember to check in with your school's international student office regarding their specific OPT application policies and timeline before applying. After receiving the EAD card, you will also have to check in with said international student office, who will be sponsoring the OPT for the year.

And that's it! Hope you have found this useful.