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SEVIS Help Hub

F-1 Add, Edit, Delete Optional Practical Training (OPT) Employer

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5. F-1 Add, Edit, Delete Optional Practical Training (OPT) Employer

F-1 Add, Edit, Delete Optional Practical Training (OPT) Employer

Quick Links:

• Overview
• Resources
• Relationship between Employment and the Student’s Major Area of Study
• Special Employment Circumstances
• Add or Update Employer Information
• Delete Employer
• Correct Employer Data: Correction Requests and Data Fixes

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Overview

While on any type of optional practical training (OPT), a student is required to report the following:

• Change in student’s legal name.
• Change in student’s physical, mailing, or employer address while on OPT.
• Change in employment or interruption of employment.

Students on post-completion OPT, including the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Extension, can report certain personal address and employment changes using their Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) Portal accounts.

Anything the student cannot or does not report via the SEVP Portal, must be reported to their designated school official (DSO) within 10 days. DSOs have 21 days from the date the student reports a change to update the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to reflect the changes.

Resources

Federal Regulations and Policies:

• 8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(i)
• 8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(ii)
• 8 CFR 214.3(g)(2)
• SEVP Update to OPT Policy Guidance, April 23, 2010
• SEVP Policy Guidance: Practical Training – Determining a Direct Relationship between Employment and a Student’s Major Area of Study, September 27, 2019

Other employment resources:

• View Employment Information
• Unemployment Counter
• SEVIS and the SEVP Portal
• SEVP Portal Help
• SEVP Portal Student User Guide

Relationship between Employment and the Student’s Major Area of Study

“SEVP Policy Guidance: Practical Training – Determining a Direct Relationship Between Employment and a Student's Major Area of Study” explains SEVP’s stance on determining whether the OPT employment is directly related to the student’s major area of study and how to explain this relationship in SEVIS. It is the student’s responsibility to relate the training opportunity to the program of study. If the relationship is not clear, it is the student who must identify the connection.

Before you add an employer in SEVIS, the student should give you a written description that includes:

• Job title
• Employer name
• Major area of study
• Whether the employment is full-time or the average number of hours worked per week
• Description of regular job duties and how they directly relate to the degree that qualified the student for OPT. For example:
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering: I work full-time as an Electrical Engineer at ABC Corporation, a government contractor. In my job, I analyze client requirements for electrical systems and provide them with cost estimates of such systems. My work requires understanding of electrical circuit theory, which I studied in-depth at the University of ABC.
  • Master's degree in Music Therapy: I am working at a hospital playing the harp in patient rooms. I also conduct hands-on, harp beginner workshops for long-term patients. On average, I work at the hospital 35 hours a week. My duties directly use the skills and knowledge I acquired from my coursework and degree in music therapy.

  Special Employment Circumstances

  A student may have a special employment situation that requires the DSO to edit the student’s employment record.

  Enter the primary location where the student performs the work.

  Note: Depending on the nature of the employment, this may be a residence, office, or formal business.

  Enter the employment location that best meets the reporting responsibilities to the DSO and to SEVP.

  Note: The DSO may want to confirm that the supervisors at the primary employment location understand their reporting responsibilities to the school and have explained those responsibilities to supervisors at the secondary employment locations.

  • Indicate the student is self-employed.
  • Enter in the Employment Remarks section what the student is doing; for example, playing music or acting with multiple gigs.
  • Enter the name and address of the company where the student volunteers.
  • Indicate in the Employment Remarks section that the student is a volunteer.
  • If the student did not have an employer, do not enter anything.
  • If the student had an employer in the past, but is currently unemployed, edit the End Date for the previous employer.

  Note: The End Date must be before the actual OPT approved period of work end date.