You may want to visit your home country or travel outside the U.S. while applying for or after receiving F-1 Optional Practical Training. This article gives tips on when you can travel internationally on OPT and what documents you need under various scenarios that may apply to you as an international student in the U.S.
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Before your program ends
The status of your OPT application doesn’t affect your travel since your reentry to the U.S. is based on your current F-1 status. The documents required are the same as the ones you will need as an F-1 student:
- Unexpired passport valid for at least six months after the date of your reentry;
- Unexpired student visa; and
- Unexpired Form I-20 with a valid travel signature within 12 months of the date you return.
After your program ends and before OPT is approved
It is not recommended that you travel abroad before you receive your EAD card.
If the USCIS sends you a request for evidence while you are away, you need to ensure you provided a correct U.S. address both to your Designated School Official and on the OPT application and would be able to send in the requested documents. To do so, you need to be physically in the U.S. to file for evidence.
For more information on the risks of traveling while OPT is pending, you can visit the University of California, Berkeley, International Office’s website.
If the USCIS approves your OPT application, you will be expected to have your EAD in hand to re-enter the U.S., which will be sent to your U.S. address.
If you intend to work while on OPT, never reenter the U.S. on another visa status (for example, a B-2 tourist visa) because this implies you have abandoned your F-1 status and your OPT will automatically end.
Reentering the U.S. before receiving your OPT is highly risky, but if you insist on traveling internationally, bring these documents:
- Unexpired passport valid for at least six months after the date of your reentry;
- Unexpired student visa;
- Unexpired Form I-20 with a valid travel signature no older than six months;
- I-797c Receipt Notice showing that USCIS is reviewing your OPT application; and
- A job offer letter or communication about interviews if you have a job offer or interview appointments set up.
Also, it is recommended that you ask a friend to email you a scanned copy of the EAD card.
After your OPT is approved and you received your EAD card
You may travel internationally in this case. But the time you spend outside the U.S. is counted towards the unemployment period if you are not employed by a U.S. employer. If you have used all of your 90-day unemployment period before you leave, you shall not return.
The documents you need in this case include:
- Unexpired passport valid for at least six months after the date of your reentry
- Unexpired student visa
- Unexpired Form I-20 with OPT recommendation and a valid travel signature no older than six months
- Unexpired EAD card (the card has “not valid for reentry” on it, meaning the card on its own is not sufficient without the other documents listed here)
- Proof of employment that you will begin or resume upon reentry (job offer, work contract, proof of payment or letter from employer, or evidence of your job search if you haven’t gotten an offer yet)
Pending STEM OPT extension application before EAD card expires
All the documents required are the same as in the previous case, except the third item becomes unexpired Form I-20 with STEM OPT recommendation and a valid travel signature no older than six months.
Pending STEM OPT extension application after EAD card expires
In this case, do not travel while you have a pending STEM OPT extension. You will not be able to return to F-1 status to resume employment.
After the STEM OPT extension is approved
The documents needed are the same as when you have a pending STEM OPT extension application before the EAD card expires, except that the fourth item becomes an unexpired EAD card for the STEM OPT extension.
During the cap-gap extension period
Do not travel during the cap-gap period if your F-1 visa has expired, and do not travel internationally while the H-1B change of status is pending. It will make you ineligible for the cap-gap extension.
Normally, you can travel abroad and return to the US in F-1 status during a Cap-Gap period if:
- Your change of status to H-1B has been approved
- You return in F-1 status before your H-1B start date
Prepare the following documents:
- Unexpired passport valid for at least six months after the date of your reentry
- Unexpired student visa
- Cap-gap I-20 reflecting OPT extension through September 30 with an unexpired travel signature no older than six months
- EAD card
- I-797 Approval Notice of the H-1B change of status
- Proof of employment that you will begin or resume upon reentry (job offer, work contract, proof of payment or letter from employer)
How long can I stay in the U.S. after my post-completion OPT end date?
You get a 60-day grace period following the end of the OPT period. This is for you to prepare to leave the country. It only applies to those who have not used the entire 90 days of unemployment during the OPT period or the 150 days of unemployment during the OPT and the STEM OPT extension. You shall not travel internationally during this period. Otherwise, you will not be readmitted to the U.S.
The sections above use information from Columbia University International Students and Scholars’ Office’s website. ICE has also compiled some FAQs on travel reentry on non-immigrant visas.
