12 Month OPT Reporting

Students with 12 month OPT Employment Authorization should review the requirements for OPT reporting carefully in order to maintain lawful status during this period.

OPT Reporting

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Students with OPT authorization must report any change in employment, immigration status, or personal information within 10 days.
Changes may be reported at any time PRIOR to the change occurring, and up to 10 days AFTER the change occurs.
 
Such changes include, but are not limited to:
  • Adding a new employer/company
  • Change of employment to add a new employer/company
  • Employment address change, or a change of work location
  • End of employment (whether for a change in jobs, change of immigration status, or transfer of SEVIS record)
12 month initial OPT students must report all employment changes in the SEVP Portal
  • Students will not be able to report a new/change of employment in the SEVP Portal more than 10 days after the start date. 
    • If you fail to submit your report in a timely manner and need to submit a late report, email Global@njit.edu and indicate that you need to submit an OPT report and are more than 10 days past your employment start date. You will be provided with a link to submit your late OPT report.
  • **The SEVP Portal cannot be used to report employment changes after you have requested a STEM OPT Extension application from OGI.**
    • If you are nearing the end of your initial 12 months of OPT and are changing employment, you should enter this PRIOR to submitting your application for STEM OPT Extension to OGI.
    • It is strongly recommended that you make sure all of your employment information is up to date and correct in the SEVP Portal PRIOR to submitting the STEM Extension Application to OGI. Failure to do so may cause delays in processing your application and issuing documents.
    • If you change employment after OGI has issued you a STEM OPT Extension Requested Form I-20, but prior to submitting this application to USCIS, then you must submit a *new* application for the STEM OPT Extension (minus the $200 money order) to OGI. OGI will update your records and issue you a Form I-20 for the STEM OPT Extension with your new employment information.
    • If you change employment while your STEM OPT Extension application is pending with USCIS (after you have submitted your application to USCIS), even if your initial OPT authorization has not ended, you must follow the instructions for reporting STEM OPT employment in order to properly submit your change of employment information.
  • If you are locked out of your account, or did not receive the email from SEVP with instructions on how to create an account:
    • Email global@njit.edu. Please note:
      • The SEVP portal link will not be sent to you until your approved start date has arrived. Please do not email the OGI to request this link if your OPT start date has not arrived.
      • Your SEVP portal link will be sent to the email address associated with your SEVIS record, typically your NJIT account. Please be sure to check your SPAM folder, as this link is often misdirected as SPAM.
12 month Post Completion OPT Employment Reporting Instructions
  1. Upload a copy of your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to your myGlobal portal, if you have not already done so.
  2. Log on to the SEVP Portal with your account information: https://sevp.ice.gov/opt/
  3. Enter your employment information as required.
    • If you change employers, enter an end date for the previous employer and add you new employer's information. Do not delete any previous employers unless you did not actually work for that company.
  4. You must describe how your job relates to your major and limit your explanation to 1000 characters. You may use the template below:
    • "My major was _______ and I’m working as a _______. My responsibilities are ______, ______ and ________, all of which are related to my major ________."
  5. If you are locked out of your account, or did not receive the email from SEVP with instructions on how to create an account, email us at global@njit.edu. Please note:
    • The SEVP portal link will not be sent to you until your approved start date has arrived. Please do not email the OGI to request this link if your OPT start date has not arrived.
    • Your SEVP portal link will be sent to the email address associated with your SEVIS record, typically your NJIT account. Please be sure to check your SPAM folder, as this link is often misdirected as SPAM.

Updated I-20 Requests

 If you require an updated copy of your I-20 with the new employment information: 

  • You may request a reprint via the myGlobal International Student portal after your information has been updated. 
  • All document requests to OGI may take up to 7 business days for processing. If you request an updated I-20 before you have self reported your employment, then your reprinted I-20 will not include your most recent employment changes.
**The SEVP Portal cannot be used to report employment changes after you have requested a STEM OPT Extension application from OGI.**
  • If you are nearing the end of your initial 12 months of OPT and are changing employment, you should enter this PRIOR to submitting your application for STEM OPT Extension to OGI.
It is strongly recommended that you make sure all of your employment information is up to date and correct in the SEVP Portal PRIOR to submitting the STEM Extension Application to OGI. Failure to do so may cause delays in processing your application and issuing documents.
  • If you change employment after OGI has issued you a STEM OPT Extension requested Form I-20, but prior to submitting this application to USCIS, then you must submit a *new* application for the STEM OPT Extension (minus the $200) to OGI. OGI will update your records and issue you a Form I-20 for the STEM OPT Extension with your new employment information.
  • If you change employment while your STEM OPT Extension application is pending with USCIS (after you have submitted your application to USCIS), even if your initial OPT authorization has not ended, you must follow the instructions for reporting STEM OPT employment in order to properly submit your change of employment information. 
Remember:
While authorized for 12-month OPT, students are responsible for reporting any changes of employment within 10 days using their SEVP portal (students on STEM extension should use the myGlobal International Student Portal to report). 
Students will not be able to report a new/change of employment more than 10 days after the start date. 
  • For example, if you want to report a new job that started on June 1, you must report it in the SEVP portal by June 11. Otherwise, you will not be able to enter the correct start date.
**If you fail to submit your report in a timely manner and need to submit a late report, email Global@njit.edu and indicate that you need to submit an OPT report and are more than 10 days past your employment start date. You will be provided with a link to submit your late OPT report.