International Student Services
International Division

OPT Reporting Requirements

Report to ISS 

You must report the following changes to ISS within ten days:

  • Change in U.S. residential address
  • Change in permanent foreign address
  • Update of employment status or employer information
  • Change to your legal name in your passport

Report to ISS on the online  OPT/STEM Extension Reporting Form.

Failure to report your information could result in the automatic termination of your I-20 SEVIS record by the Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) without warning. If your I-20 SEVIS record is terminated while you are still in the U.S., you may begin to accrue days of unlawful presence. 

You should keep proof of employment for your permanent records.

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90 Days of Unemployment Rule

You cannot accrue more than 90 days of unemployment during your authorized period of OPT. The days of unemployment begin on the EAD card start date.

You can do any of the following before reaching 90 days of unemployment:

  • Depart the U.S.
  • Return to UW-Madison for another academic program
    • The new full-time academic program must start within five months of your last date of employment, 90th day of unemployment, or your EAD card end date, whichever is earlier.
    • Once you are admitted to another full-time academic program, you can submit the Change of Education Level request with sufficient financial documentation to ISS.
    • If this update is done before your EAD card expires, you will lose any remaining OPT authorization you have at that same degree level.
  • Attend another U.S. institution for another academic program
    • The new full-time academic program must start within five months of your last date of employment, 90th day of unemployment, or your EAD card end date, whichever is earlier.
    • Once you are admitted to another full-time academic program, you can submit the Transfer Out request form with proof of admission to ISS.
    • If this update is done before your EAD card expires, you will lose any remaining OPT authorization you have at that same degree level.
  • Change your U.S. immigration status
    • If you have been approved for another U.S. non-immigrant or U.S. immigrant-intent visa status, submit proof of your approval to ISS at iss@iss.wisc.edu. ISS will update your SEVIS record and UW-Madison file.

You are still employed if you are approved by your employer for paid or unpaid leave for any of the following reasons. You should keep written documentation of the approval.

  • Vacation
  • Illness
  • Disability of a family member
  • Pregnancy
  • Maternity or Paternity leave
  • Union business
  • Other temporary leave approved by your employer

SEVP PORTAL 

The SEVP Portal is not required. At this time, ISS recommends that you use the SEVP Portal to verify the accuracy of your reporting updates to ISS.

On March 23, 2018, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) launched the SEVP Portal. The portal is a tool that F-1 or M-1 students on post-completion OPT or STEM Extension OPT can choose to use to report changes to their home address, telephone number and employer information.

The SEVP Portal will allow you to:

  • View details about your post-completion or STEM OPT.
  • Report changes to your address, telephone and employer information.
  • View and update data on all your employers in one place.

Close to your OPT or STEM Extension OPT start date, you will receive an email from do-not-reply.sevp@ice.dhs.gov with instructions on creating a portal account. If you do not see the email, check your spam or junk mail folder. If you still do not see it, contact your ISS advisor on Terra Dotta by sending an information request.

Use of the portal is voluntary. If you have any questions about the portal or need assistance, call the SEVP Response Center at 703-603-3400.

SEVP has created an SEVP Portal Help section on Study in the States with: