Visas and the queue

F-1 student status and OPT

Also called F-1, F1, OPT, STEM OPT, student visa.

F-1 is the nonimmigrant status of a foreign student at a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and optional practical training is the temporary work authorization it can carry: 12 months, renewed only when the student moves up to a higher educational level, plus a 24 month extension for a qualifying STEM degree.

What it decides

8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i) requires a residence abroad the student has no intention of abandoning, so F-1 is not dual intent, a protection 8 U.S.C. 1184(h) gives only to H-1B, L and V. Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10) a student is authorized 12 months of practical training and becomes eligible for another 12 only on changing to a higher educational level, with the 24 month STEM extension at (f)(10)(ii)(C). Most graduates then need an H-1B, and the cap is 65,000 plus 20,000 for holders of a US master's degree or higher under 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(1)(A)(vii) and (g)(5)(C), with no right to be selected. A DHS final rule published 17 July 2026 ends duration of status on 15 September 2026 and admits F students for four years or the program end date on the Form I-20, whichever is shorter, so continuing study or OPT will require an extension of stay from USCIS. A child who becomes a permanent resident as a derivative on a parent's EB-5 case needs none of this, but while still a nonimmigrant that student cannot be counted as a qualifying employee under 8 CFR 204.6(e).

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i); 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(1)(A)(vii), (g)(5)(C) and (h); 8 CFR 214.2(f)(1), (f)(5) and (f)(10), including (f)(10)(ii)(C); 8 CFR 204.6(e). The fixed admission period comes from the DHS final rule Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media, 91 FR 44976, 17 July 2026, effective 15 September 2026, which supersedes the duration of status text still shown at 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5).

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into f-1 student status and opt rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

Qualifying employeeA qualifying employee is a US citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or another immigrant lawfully authorized to be employed in the United States, and only their full-time positions count toward an investor's ten. The statute adds United States nationals to that list.
H-1BH-1B is temporary US work status for a specialty occupation, meaning a job whose minimum requirement for entry is a bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related specific specialty, granted on an employer's petition and limited to six years of total stay under 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(4).
L-1 intracompany transfereeL-1 is temporary US work status for an employee a multinational moves into a US parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary, as an executive or manager under L-1A or in a specialized knowledge role under L-1B, after one continuous year of employment abroad with the same group of companies.
Employment authorization documentAn employment authorization document, Form I-766, is the card USCIS issues on an approved Form I-765 to prove that its holder may work in the United States for a stated period, and an EB-5 investor needs one only while a Form I-485 is pending, because a green card is itself evidence of work authorization.
Derivative beneficiaryA derivative beneficiary is the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of an EB-5 investor who, under 8 U.S.C. 1153(d), takes the same classification, the same order of consideration and the same priority date as the investor without filing a petition of their own.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary