International Students: How to apply for OPT at USC

By: Ngai Yeung ‘23

For international students who are graduating in May 2023, now’s the time to start applying for OPT if you want to stay and work in the United States after graduation. Even though I’m aware of OPT, I’d put off learning about how to actually apply for it until now because it seemed so complicated. Here’s a (hopefully) more straightforward step-by-step guide that incorporates the USC Office of International Service’s (OIS) video and website as well as outside sources.

Note: This article is not endorsed by or affiliated with OIS. This is only what I’ve learned from my research as an undergraduate senior and international student currently going through the process. Everyone should check over all final decisions or questions with OIS. 

Step One: Understand when you can apply

Students can start applying for OPT as early as 90 days before but no later than 60 days after the program end date listed on their I-20. 

For example, I am a senior graduating this May and the program end date on my I-20 is May 12–graduation–so the earliest I can start applying is February 11, 2023 and the last day I am eligible to apply would be July 11, 2023. 

It’s generally better to apply as early as possible as the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes an average of 3-5 months to process applications, and you can’t start work until they approve the application and mail you a physical Employment Authorization Document card (EAD). 

However, it can be strategically difficult to apply early. That’s because you must put down the date you’ll start working, regardless of whether you have an offer. On one hand, you can’t start working until the start date you put down, so you don’t want to make it too late in case you get an offer sooner than expected. But on the other hand, there’s a risk you don’t find a job in time for your start date. You can’t be unemployed for more than 90 cumulative days while on OPT, so you ideally want to avoid accumulating those days while you’re job hunting. Because you can’t change the start date you select on your application, this turns into a complete guessing game on when to mark your start date if you complete your application early. 

Step Two: Create a MyOIS account to apply for OPT I-20 

When you’re ready to start the application, the first step is to apply for an OPT I-20 document from USC, which you will then submit to USCIS along with other required documents (as listed in step five.)

To get your OPT I-20 from USC, create an account on USC’s MyOIS platform and fill out your information. At this point, you’ll have to choose your start date. Remember, choose wisely because you won’t be able to change it afterwards. Here’s a tool to help calculate your start and end dates, though keep in mind the program end date itself is for Columbia students and not USC students.

NOTE: Because OIS is launching a new system in 2023, OPT requests cannot be submitted between March 8, 2023 and March 19, 2023. They will resume accepting applications again beginning March 20 via their new platform called Trojan International. More information here.

Step Three: Get your academic advisors to sign your graduation verification form 

As part of the process to apply for an OPT I-20 from USC, you’ll have to get your academic advisor to sign off on your graduation verification form, which you can download after you’ve filled out your basic information on MyOIS and clicked on the next step for your OPT I-20 application. You can either request for USC to give you sending permission on DocuSign then send it to your advisor, or just email them the PDF to sign electronically. If you are a double major, it’s fine to either submit separate forms or ask both your advisors to sign on the same form. After you upload the form with the signatures, you can just submit!

Step Four: Sign your OPT I-20 when you receive it

OIS will take seven business days to process your request once it’s submitted to their portal and then it will email you a copy of your OPT I-20 if it’s been approved without errors. Students must print out this I-20 to physically sign it — electronic signatures are not allowed in this particular step. 

Step Five: Filing the Form I-765, supporting documents and paying

The next and final step is to file your Form I-765. This must be done within 30 days of the issue date listed on your OPT I-20. Otherwise, your application will be denied. 

To start, create a USCIS account and select “Filing a Form Online,” followed by “Application for Employment Authorization (I-765).” Before you get started, make sure you have your signed OPT I-20, your I-94, a passport style headshot, and a photo of your passport itself nearby. 

Check out this detailed guide from OIS on how to fill out the rest of the form. It includes tips like putting down an address you’ll have reliable access to for six months after you graduate such as a friend’s or a relative’s address since you’ll likely be moving during this period.

At the very end, you’ll need to fork over a filing fee of $410 (internal screaming).

Step Six: You’re done! It’s time to wait 

And you’re done! Take a deep breath and enjoy the satisfaction of having conquered the paperwork. 

But this is where the truly hard part begins. USCIS takes a variable amount of time to process your application, and there’s no expedited route. It’s essentially just waiting and hoping for the best. You can sign up via USCIS to track the USPS mailing status of your EAD card, and their website can calculate an estimated waiting time, but there’s not much you can do until the EAD card shows up in the mail. At least now you can say that you’ve done your part to the best of your ability. 

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