Steps to Help Students Successfully Navigate the OPT Gap

This article is an update to a previously published blog post titled “For Advisors: OPT and Navigating the Student Transition.” Read the original post here.
Processing issues surrounding Optional Practical Training (OPT) persist in the wake of COVID-19 and the end of the last U.S. presidential administration. In response, schools and their international student advisors are working at a frenetic pace to deliver sound advice and help students make the transition from school to the workplace as smooth as possible.
Here are three items that help frame a meaningful OPT gap conversation with your students:

1. Understand the Current Climate and Proactively Assist Students

In response to the pandemic, international student admissions have declined precipitously. According to the Institute of International Education® (IIE), total enrollment for international students, both in-person and online, decreased by 16 percent in Fall 2020. New international student enrollment was hit even harder with a 43 percent decrease. The silver lining comes in the form of deferrals. Ninety percent of surveyed institutions reported international student deferrals for Fall 2020, accounting for nearly 40,000 students who will hopefully come to study in the U.S. at a later date. With these decreases in admissions, a significant decline in OPT is likely also on the horizon.
However, a natural return to normal enrollment alone may not be enough to bring students back amidst a climate that has been hostile for the past four years. One proactive improvement international offices can make is paying attention to what international students find important. As a highly popular feature of their F-1 visa status, international students understand how a post-completion EAD can help establish their professional careers in the U.S.—or at least gain on-the-job experience before heading home. As of this writing, OPT application numbers are still strong, and requests are continuing to be reviewed, albeit very slowly. COVID-19 restrictions, a significant increase in certain benefit requests, and the utter inundation of the U.S. postal service are causing major delays at USCIS lockboxes. Despite lawsuits challenging these errors, These delays are causing the loss of jobs and job offers and threatening the immigration status for many international students. International students should be advised of these delays entering their final semester so they can prepare for the application costs and documents required to file their application and not wait until final filing deadlines so as to avoid an unfortunate scenario like Berkeley faced.

2. Navigate the Timeline

Lockbox delays have prompted U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue flexibilities regarding OPT periods and applications. Specifically:

1. The 14-month OPT completion timeline will now begin on the date of students’ Form I-765 approval instead of the end of their academic program.
2. Students who receive Form I-765 approval for less than the amount of time originally requested can request a correction to their Employment Authorization Document (EAD). USCIS will issue a new EAD with the corrected date to cover the full amount of requested OPT time.
3. The deadline for refiling a rejected Form I-765 has been extended to May 31, 2021, provided the original filing was received between Oct. 1, 2020 and May 1, 2021 and consequently rejected. USCIS recommends including a copy of the rejection notice with your second filing.
4. If the lockbox inadvertently accepts a Form I-765 with a missing or deficient signature, a Request for Evidence will be issued rather than a denial.

Communicating the changes will help students understand their role and responsibilities in a timely filing of their I-765 application and therefore reduce the amount of gap period between their graduation date and the start of their employment.

3. Fill The Gap

Besides advising on the filing and refiling of OPT applications, it’s important for advisors to remind students of the potential intermission between student and employee that may leave graduated international students without income and health insurance.
When an international student graduates, their eligibility for F-1 health insurance may run out depending on the policy in place at their school. And even if a student files their OPT application on the first possible date with a start date for the Monday following graduation, receives the EAD in time, has a job offer in hand for that following Monday, and their new company offers great health insurance, they may still be without health insurance if their new company has a mandatory waiting period. In the employer world, it is normal for new hires to wait a period of 30 to 90 days after their start date – in such time they are not eligible for the company’s group health insurance coverage. This is why OPT health insurance is vital to your students’ transition plans. OPT health insurance fills this gap, meaning your students are still protected, even if their filing gets delayed at a lockbox. This avoids the very real and painful conversation of a former student begging to “get back on” your health insurance coverage likely due to an emergency already incurred!

Key Takeaway

A lot goes into helping an international student navigate the transition between graduation and a new job. Lewerglobal aids in this transition by offering high-quality health insurance designed specifically for their situation. You can learn more about OPT health insurance at this link or contact us by email or live chat today.

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