Changing from CPT to Pre - OPT


jconn

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Hello

I am a student who has taken around 8 months of CPT and have around 3 months 29 days of CPT left. I have an offer for an internship from a company for which they need me to work for around 6 months. Is it possible to break this period of 6 months between CPT and Pre OPT (I will be using the Pre OPT during summer and hence will be able to work full time). I will be applying for Pre OPT but what I have in my hand right now is just a 4 month CPT authorization on my I-20. So, the question is, will my signing of the 6 months work contract with my 4 month CPT authorization on i20 violate any rule or work status? The employer will also be verifying my work status when I join through e-verify (will this be an issue although the employer and the university is aware of my work status and breaking between CPT and Pre OPT). Thank You for the help in advance.

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Your school authorities are wrong. USCIS used to ignore that, but no longer.

8 CFR 214.2(f)(10):

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fb65534ea0a64c4c2f287c52e4722395&mc=true&node=pt8.1.214&rgn=div5#se8.1.214_12

"(10) Practical training. Practical training may be authorized to an F-1 student who has been lawfully enrolled on a full time basis, in a Service-approved college, university, conservatory, or seminary for one full academic year. This provision also includes students who, during their course of study, were enrolled in a study abroad program, if the student had spent at least one full academic term enrolled in a full course of study in the United States prior to studying abroad. A student may be authorized 12 months of practical training, and becomes eligible for another 12 months of practical training when he or she changes to a higher educational level." (Emphasis mine.)

The law is pretty clear. Not CPT + OPT, just PT. 12 months in total. USCIS nowadays consider people to be out of status if they do more than 12 months of Practical Training for the same educational level (the only exception is STEM OPT, which is covered a few sections down in the CFR, but STEM OPT is post-completion.)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/24/2018 at 1:54 AM, jconn said:

Hello

I am a student who has taken around 8 months of CPT and have around 3 months 29 days of CPT left. I have an offer for an internship from a company for which they need me to work for around 6 months. Is it possible to break this period of 6 months between CPT and Pre OPT (I will be using the Pre OPT during summer and hence will be able to work full time). I will be applying for Pre OPT but what I have in my hand right now is just a 4 month CPT authorization on my I-20. So, the question is, will my signing of the 6 months work contract with my 4 month CPT authorization on i20 violate any rule or work status? The employer will also be verifying my work status when I join through e-verify (will this be an issue although the employer and the university is aware of my work status and breaking between CPT and Pre OPT). Thank You for the help in advance.

If your internship starts in summer, then I suggest to apply for your OPT as early as possible( with an assumption that you will graduate in May)..in this way there won't be any gap between your CPT and OPT.  I strongly suggest to apply for OPT before 364 days of CPT ends, don't wait till end of 11th month.

If, as Joef mentioned is true, then your OPT will be denied. 

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