For international students on an F-1 visa in the United States, the STEM OPT extension program provides an opportunity to gain valuable work experience after graduation while extending their stay in the US for a chance of an H-1B lottery win.
Students in the following fields will be able to obtain STEM OPT extensions for 24 months:
The following settlement was reached in Li v. USCIS in favor of the OPT and STEM OPT applicant students suffering from delays and rejections:
Update 1- Feb 8, 2021
Can students on OPT CPT work remotely during the COVID times. ICE says yes. See from page 12 on of this FAQ released by the govt.
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/coronavirus/covid19faq.pdf
A careful review of these appropriate conditions leads to the inescapable conclusion that very little has really changed.
The new rule regulating the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for F-1 students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), becomes effective on May 10, 2016.
DHS has asked for an additional extension of stay to 10 May 2016 of the court order under which the STEM extension of OPT was invalidated by the DC federal court. DHS needs time to review appx. 50,500 comments they have received on the new proposed regulations. Historical discussion pertaining to the lawsuit is at this link: http://www.immigration.com/blogs/17-month-stem-cap-gap-opt-extension-voided-court