How unemployment days are counted on OPT and the STEM extension

Asked constantly, and the two details that trip people up are both about counting. **The allowances are cumulative.** 90 days during post-completion OPT, and a further 60 once you are on the 24-month STEM extension — 150 in total across the whole authorisation. The extension does not reset the count, and days already used still count. **The clock runs from your last day of work, not from when it was reported.** Reporting late does not buy you days. It does create a separate problem, because a change has to be reported within 10 days. One thing worth knowing: unpaid work for an organisation that would otherwise pay somebody for the role does not stop the clock. If you are between jobs, your DSO is the person who can tell you exactly where your count stands.