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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.

This is the most-asked question in every immigration forum right now, so here is what the rules say. We have published it as a starting point — add your own situation below and the room will know more than we do about how it plays out in practice. When the clock starts. The day after your last paid day, not the day you were told. The window is up to 60 consecutive days or the end date on your I-94, whichever comes first — and people routinely forget the second half and lose weeks they thought they had. What you can do inside it. A new employer can file for you with a request to extend your stay; you can file to change to another status; you can file to adjust status if a visa is available to you; or, if you hold an approved I-140 and your priority date is not current, you can apply for a compelling-circumstances work permit. That last route exists specifically for people stuck in a backlog. What ends it. Doing nothing. If the window closes with nothing filed, you and any dependants are expected to leave. We cannot tell you which route fits your case — that turns on your petition, your dates, and your family's status. Take it to somebody qualified, and use the window to do it rather than to research it.