Have done some full time CPT. Would I be able to do 12 months of OPT

[senami]

As the title suggests, have already done some full-time CPT and plan to defend my dissertation soon. Was wondering if I am eligible for 12-months of post-completion OPT or not... I have read some stories of people who have done OPT and then register for another degree at the same level and pursue CPT only to get denied H1b COS. 

Would this affect me if I pursue 12 month of full time OPT? If yes, what is the best thing for me to do at this point?

[02112018]

If you finished 12 + months FT CPT, then you will not get OPT if it's 1st,2nd,3rd degree also.

[senami]

10 hours ago, 02112018 said:

If you finished 12 + months FT CPT, then you will not get OPT if it's 1st,2nd,3rd degree also.

I understand that those who complete 12+ months of FT CPT are ineligible for OPT (at that same level)

 

My question has to do with those who complete less than 12 months of FT CPT (say because of an internship etc.) Would they still be able to get 12 months of post-completion OPT. There were some stories in the news from a few months ago about 12-month post completion OPT being issued, but then H1b petitions later on denied because FT CPT (internships) + OPT exceeded 12 months and could potentially be a violation of status.

 

So my question is, do people who have done a full -time internship on a CPT basically kiss goodbye to OPT if the want to remain in status?

[02112018]

Follow : https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/complete-correct-form-i-9/complete-section-1-employee-information-and-attestation/foreign-academic-students

[JoeF]

The issue is that 8CFR214.2(f)(10) says that a person on F1 can have 1 year of Practical Training (excluding STEM OPT) per academic level. So if you have used some CPT, you would only be allowed 1 year minus the time on CPT for the OPT.

Now, in the past people got 1 year of OPT when they didn't use 1 year of CPT. But USCIS nowadays goes more by the letter of the law.