OPT & Travel

Q: Can I leave the country while my application for OPT is being process
ed?

A: Yes and no. The most risk-free answer to this question is do not trav
el until you have the Employment Authorization Document (also referred t
o as the EAD, I-766, or 'work permit') in your hand.

If you have submitted your OPT application and wish to travel outside th
e country while you are awaiting the approval AND you will return before
you have completed your degree program, you may do so without any impac
t upon your OPT application. Of course, you will need to have a valid vi
sa stamp and properly validated travel document in order to return, and
you must make absolutely certain that when you reenter, your I-94 card r
eflects that you were admitted as an F-1 student. If you travel abroad a
fter graduation but before the work permit is approved, then you cannot,
repeat CANNOT reenter the U.S. until you have your work permit in hand,
a new I-20, AND proof that you are returning to a real job in order for
the OPT to remain valid. The risk in traveling abroad prior to approval
means that if anything goes wrong with the application process or if th
e application is delayed for a lengthy period of time, you have no recou
rse other than to wait outside the country until the OPT is approved.

Immigration has a built-in mechanism for situations where it is slow in
processing these OPT applications. Once 90 days have passed since your a
pplication was received, you may travel on Day 91 to the Immigration off
ice in Charlotte and be issued an interim work permit that day. This mec
hanism, however, only works to your advantage IF you are inside the U.S.
For the student who already has left the U.S., this '90-day rule' is NO
T an option, thereby leaving the student stranded outside the country un
til the approval arrives. NOTE: if, before the OPT is approved, you choo
se to enter the country, either on an expired I-20 or in a status other
than F-1 (such as WB, WT, B-1, B-2, etc.), it is a violation of status t
o use the I-766 to accept employment. It also may be viewed by Immigrati
on as committing visa fraud. We will not be able to issue you a new I-20
and you will be unable to obtain a new F-1 visa stamp without a valid I
-20.

Q: If I want to travel outside of the U.S. after my OPT has been approve
d, what do I have to do?

A: Many things! After you receive your Employment Authorization Document
(EAD), if you intend to travel abroad, contact our office immediately.
As an F-1 student, you will need a valid passportand an updated I-20 ver
ifying your status and approval for OPT. If you need to obtain a new vis
a stamp, you also will need a new I-20. Before we can issue a new I-20,
we must make a copy of your current I-20, your I-94 card (front and back
), your passport identity and expiration date pages, your current/most r
ecent visa stamp, and new financial proof of funding documentation. If y
ou need a new visa stamp, remember that the burden is upon you to convin
ce a U.S. consular officer that you intend to return to your home countr
y after completion of your optional practical training. If the officer b
elieves that it is your intention to remain in the U.S. beyond the endin
g date of your OPT, s/he may deny your visa and you will be unable to re
turn to the U.S. Neither the Duke International Office nor your employer
can intervene should this occur.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: you CANNOT travel abroad and reenter the U.S. after gr
aduation and during the OPT period unless you actually are returning to
a job. As of December 15, 2004, SEVP has issued an interpretation of 8 C
.F.R. § 214.2(f)(13)(ii) making it clear that after your OPT is approve
d and the EAD issued, you only can reenter the U.S. to resume employment
. SEVP further clarified that the student need not have already commence
d the actual job before leaving, as long as s/he has a firm job offer to
which to return.

The problem with traveling after graduation before you have your work pe
rmit is that you have no idea when the OPT application will be approved.
If you are out of the country when this happens, it will be possible fo
r us to send the EAD to you and work with you to obtain the necessary do
cuments to issue you a new I-20. BUT, none of this will be of any good i
f you don't yet have a job! Prior to the 2003-04 academic year, students
could return to continue their job search while on OPT. This no longer
is possible.

No job, no reentry, and no OPT.

Our office always has warned students that traveling on OPT without a jo
b was a risky thing to do. OPT is authorization to work full-time, just
as F-1 students are expected to be enrolled in their academic programs f
ull-time. The later into the OPT period that students traveled without h
aving a job begged the question, "what are you doing in the U.S.?" It no
w is clear. You cannot travel during OPT and reenter unless you are comi
ng back to an actual job.

Q. If I travel abroad during OPT, how long is my I-20 valid?

A. The signature on your I-20 cannot be more than 6 months old as of the
day you plan to reenter the U.S. This means you must have your I-20 rev
alidated or endorsed for reentry on page 3. How do you obtain this signa
ture? First, do not wait until the last minute to request this revalidat
ion. You should mail your I-20 (and those for any dependents) to our off
ice at 300 Alexander Avenue, Durham, NC 27705. You must include a copy -
front and back - of your I-94 card (copies for dependents as well). The
I-20(s) will be signed, dated and returned to you by mail to the addres
s you enclose with the I-20(s). If you want the documents express mailed
, then you must enclose with your request a pre-addressed and pre-paid e
xpress mail envelope. We will not be able to accept individual credit ca
rd information in order to send your visa documents by express mail.

Q. Do I have to report my living address to the Duke International Offic
e during the period of OPT?

A. Absolutely! In order to maintain valid F-1 status, this is required.
A student must inform the Duke International Office in writing of any le
gal changes to his/her name or any change of address within 10 days of t
he change. Except in cases where the U.S. Post Office cannot deliver mai
l to the location where a student resides, the address provided by the s
tudent must be the actual physical location where the student is living
rather than a mailing address (e.g., P.O. Box). To report your address,
you may do so via our website (see #3 in the following link) at: https:/
/intoffice.duhs.duke.edu/.

RECOMMENDATION

If you know you need to travel soon after graduation, apply for OPT earl
y enough to have a good chance of having your work permit by graduation.
If filed by the first of March, there is a good possibility of this hap
pening! If you do leave the country following graduation, please know yo
u cannot get back unless you have a job offer letter in your hand. We al
so cannot guarantee that you won't have trouble reentering on just an I-
765 Receipt Notice. To be in the strongest possible position, we recomme
nd that when you leave the U.S. after graduation, you have:

For Departure

your EAD in hand,

your new I-20 from Duke in hand, and

your job offer letter in hand.

For Return

a valid passport,

a valid F-1 visa stamp,

a valid I-20 (you left the U.S. with it),

a valid EAD (you left the U.S. with it), and

your job offer letter (you left the U.S. with it).

Any student who has both the EAD for post-completion OPT and a job or jo
b offer letter should not experience difficulty reentering the United St
ates with these items and the usual valid immigration documents to suppo
rt their reentry.

F-1 OPT Travel Check List