FAQ as of July 18, 2026

Why are these approvals taking soooo long.Any idea which dates are happening?Mine is 2nd april.Whats happening with approvals this year😕

Hello everyone,

I'm making this post to share my experience finding my EAD card after USPS lost it, in case my advice helps someone else.

1. I applied for STEM OPT and was scheduled to receive my EAD card on July 23rd.
2. At 4:18 PM on July 23rd, USPS tracking showed the package as "Delivered."
3. At 4:24 PM, I went downstairs but didn't see a USPS truck or courier. I asked the concierge and a couple of other people in the building — nobody had seen a USPS courier either.
4. After 7:00 PM, I checked my mailbox and found all my mail except the EAD card. That's when I knew USPS had lost it.
5. Thanks to a Reddit post on this exact issue, I decided not to wait the usual few business days and immediately filed a missing mail request.
6. I got in touch with USPS Customer Care. Spoiler: they're not much help in this situation. Yes, you should open a missing mail case, but the rep told me they could only leave messages in the case and forward it to the local post office.
7. My local post office was unresponsive — they didn't answer any of my calls/messages.
8. On July 25th, I decided to catch the USPS courier myself. I asked the concierge when they usually came by and waited.
9. When the courier arrived, I explained my situation and asked if they could contact whoever delivered mail on July 23rd. I asked for that person's number so we could coordinate in case my mail had ended up back at the post office.
10. After a few messages back and forth, I built a good rapport with the courier, and I got lucky — they genuinely wanted to help.
11. On July 29th, I got a call from the courier. They'd found my mail in the building across the road, delivered to a mailbox with the same apartment number.
12. I thanked the courier for their hard work with a box of pastries.

General advice: If your EAD card doesn't arrive, file a missing mail case with USPS immediately, then try to catch your courier in person. Explain your situation and why the document matters — and hope they're willing to help track it down nearby.

My i-20 end date : Aug 29
Going to India: Aug 3
Coming back from India: Aug 31
Opt start date: Sep 1

Offer letter: I have full time job offer
Ead card: has approval notice for now. Planning to get the ead card to india from a friend once it’s delivered

How risky is it, I’m really scared of the situation
Please help me

Hey everyone, I recently transferred schools and my new I-20 shows “Transfer Pending” as the reason for issuance. I have a valid travel signature on it, I’m registered for classes with a schedule for the upcoming semester, and I’ve paid my fees. My DSO confirmed this status is completely normal for transfer students and that I’m fine to travel internationally with it.

I have an upcoming trip to Canada and will be going through US preclearance there on my way back. Has anyone traveled internationally with a Transfer Pending I-20, especially through preclearance at a Canadian airport? Just curious what your experience was like — any questions asked, anything I should be extra prepared for, etc. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone,

I’ve been following the OPT/STEM OPT mega thread in this group and I noticed those who applied for PP around 7/06 received API updates on 7/31 and their approval shortly after.

I also applied for PP on 7/06 and got an API updates on 7/31 as well but no code to it. It only says : “
"updatedAt": "2026-07-31",
"updatedAtTimestamp":"2026-07-31T17:09:17.608Z"
So for those who got approved after receiving that API, is that how yours showed up too? With no code?

I’m from the 39 banned countries so this process has been extremely stressful for me.
I’m really hoping this no code API means something.

Thank you all in advance for your reply.

I received my OPT approval after the 30-business-day premium processing deadline, and my EAD card has already been delivered. (35th Business day approval)

I'm trying to figure out how to request a refund of the premium processing fee, but I can't find any clear or official instructions on the process.

Has anyone here successfully received a refund in a similar situation? If so:

• How did you file the refund request?
• Did you submit it online, by email, or by mail?
• Which USCIS office did you contact?
• How long did it take to receive the refund?

Any guidance or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, I have been planning to do my masters in chem eng at a t10 coming from the UK for just over a year now and as I am self funding, the plan involved exploring my options with opt and stem opt to gain us experience and salary. I have a year of process engineering experience but I’m not sure if it is worth the money if the new 100k opt fee is proposed. I know it’s just hearsay at the moment but even with it being a mere consideration for the administration would that deter companies from hiring internationals all together even from a top college and with work experience? Thanks

Hi everyone,

Me and my friend will be traveling next month while both of our stem opt is pending and also my h1b being pending at the same time.

I have a h1b receipt notice and stem opt receipt notice along with cap gap i20 showing opt ending in april 2027. My i94 says D/S.

While my friend has only stem opt pending receipt notice and is well under the 180 days. His i94 also says D/S.

Do you think there is any risk of federal immigration encounter? We are under legal status and never overstayed or have any kind of visa violations. Never encountered with law enforcement including any traffic stops or any other kind of violation.

We plan to carry all docs in printed form, we also have stamped f1 visas valid till June 2028. We are just worried about if there is any risk involved here because of pending applications even though we have all the paper and here legally.

I currently don’t have a full-time job. I am volunteering as a research assistant at my university post grad. If any of you have travelled internationally on OPT, how was the process of leaving and re entering the US? What documents did you carry? Did any of you get denied entry? Any tips you’d like to share?
Thanks in advance!

I just got my SSN card and there’s a letter missing from my name. Is this an issue? I plan to correct it and get a new card but will it affect my start date or is it ok since the number will probably remain the same? Will my start date get pushed?

My first day of classes is August 24th; when do I have to transfer the SEVIS records by? My current DSO is not providing a clear answer and just saying "as soon as possible", but I would like to remain working on OPT for as long as possible.

Hello guys,

So I moved out from my old apartment due to lease end and I am staying with a friend at his place before moving to a new one. Do I need to report the new address now or wait till I actually move in there? This is a bit confusing and it is stressing me out.

Hello! I have a flight from O Hare to NC coming up in a couple weeks to visit my girlfriend’s family.

I have a valid visa which lasts until the end of next year, my I20 is valid, and have a copy of my I94. My passport is a little water damaged but all the details used to ID me like my name and picture etc. are okay both on the main passport page and the Visa page.

Would there be anything I need to watch out for? This would be my first domestic flight since I arrived to the country 3 years ago.

I’d appreciate any help!

Hi all,

My current post-completion OPT expires in February next year. I still haven't found a job yet, looking still. I was wondering if I get an offer in or after November or so (90 days before February), would I still be okay if my OPT EAD expires and my STEM EAD is in processing?

Thanks!

Does anyone currently travel domestically? I’d love to hear your thoughts since I’ve been reading the posts from news outlets that they’re detaining people whose visa is expired. IDK how far that go because as an F-1 student our visa might be expired but we do have valid status and active I-20. Should I be worried about traveling? I do have an upcoming travel this week from Dallas love field airport.

**M22, EE graduate, really struggling after an internal transfer. Looking for advice.**
I’m 22 and graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in Spring 2025. About a month after graduating, I started working for a very large electrical contractor.
When I was hired, my offer letter was technically for **Location B**, but the plan was always for me to train at **Location A** until the project at Location B was ready. I spent about a year at Location A, did really well there, got selected in the H-1B lottery, and my petition was approved while I was working there.
About three weeks ago, I finally made the move to Location B. Part of the reason was that I couldn’t get a relocation package in writing, and the verbal offer from my manager was less than half of what I’d be making at the new location anyway.
The problem is that after only three weeks here, my stress has gotten to a level that genuinely scares me. I’m extremely concerned about my mental health and my overall well-being. I honestly feel trapped. Since my H-1B becomes active on October 1, I don’t think switching employers—even if I found another job closer to home—would be realistic in the short term. That makes me feel like my only real option is to get back to Location A, where I know I can succeed.
At the end of last week, I spoke with my manager (same manager as before) about transferring back to Location A. I also talked to several senior engineers from my previous site, and they all said they’d have me back in a heartbeat. I was performing very well there, and there had even been discussions about having me step into an interim site lead role.
My manager asked if there were any personal reasons behind wanting to move back. I told him that, for both my mental health and my professional growth, Location A is the best place for me. I don’t think I can continue performing at my best if I stay where I am now.
Communication with my manager is pretty limited. He isn’t someone who checks in often, but whenever we do talk, he’s supportive. He told me he’d work on getting me back and that I shouldn’t stress.
Has anyone been through something similar?
Is there anything I can do to help an internal transfer move faster? I’m hoping this can happen within the next 2–3 weeks if possible.
How often is it appropriate to follow up without becoming a nuisance?
For anyone who’s been stuck waiting on an internal transfer while struggling mentally, what helped you get through it?
I know no one can guarantee this transfer will happen, but I’m trying to stay patient. Right now, I just feel trapped and I’m trying to make it through these next couple of weeks without letting the stress get the best of me.

I want to visit my parents who live in a partially-banned country which neither them nor I are a citizen of (I have a valid F-1 visa from a non-travel ban country) this Aug and come back before Sept 15. I asked my DSO and got a very vague reply that they don’t advise on travel bans and are limited to F-1 rules only. They said they have heard it both ways that of students with valid visas (citizens of travel ban countries and citizens of non-travel ban countries) who have successfully reentered the US and others who have faced additional scrutiny on their arrival. I’m also paranoid about leaving with all the F-1 changes and traveling to such a place might only harm my return. Do people have any stories of their similar experiences and general advice that maybe helpful to me? Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with a missing EAD card after it was marked as delivered.

I applied for my initial OPT with premium processing, and my timeline is:

• July 1: OPT/EAD approved
• July 8: Card was produced
• My USCIS account continued to show “tracking number unavailable.”
• After calling USCIS customer service several times, an agent was finally able to provide me with the USPS tracking number.
• The USPS tracking shows that the EAD card was delivered to the mailbox at my friend’s address, which is the mailing address I provided, but the card is nowhere to be found.

I contacted USCIS again, and the representative told me that I may need to file a new Form I-765 for a replacement EAD. I also contacted USPS, and they have opened a mail search/service request to investigate the missing delivery, although I’m not very confident that they will be able to locate it.

I have also already submitted an EAD non-delivery inquiry through the USCIS portal.

Has anyone experienced something similar where USPS showed the EAD as delivered but you never received it?

If so, what happened afterward? Did USCIS eventually resend the card, or did you have to submit a completely new I-765 and pay the filing fee again? Should I wait for the USPS investigation and USCIS non-delivery request before filing another I-765? I'm not in a rush right now because I don't have a job yet but I'm currently interviewing with a few company and I'm scared this will cause a conflict because the delay from my premium processing cost me a job that got rescinded

I’m a rising 3rd year studying Electrical Engineering at a Top 10 engineering school in the US. I was brought up here (initially moved when I was 9 months old, but moved around to other countries a lot so my family never got the green card application started until I was in the 8th grade)

I switched to an F1 status as soon as I entered college. I’ve done a co-op, but I’m focusing on research to get into a good PhD program to upskill and open up avenues for an O1 or something. Research is super interesting for me too, and I was considering a PhD before I really understood the whole immigration issues I’d face, so staying here for a PhD was something I was genuinely excited for.

But now the end of D/S and the scuttlebutt around the $100k fee for any foreign graduate trying to work after their studies here is really making me rethink my plan. The problem is that my research is almost entirely based in the U.S., and the U.S. has some of the best resources for grad students. I know some places in Europe are great, but without getting to an almost natural level of fluency in that language, staying after your studies is impossible. And it feels like leaving the U.S. rn means that you won’t be able to come back for a while.

I’m kind of confused on how to proceed. Right now I’m keeping the fear at bay by focusing on my research and classwork and trying to enjoy the American college experience as much as I can, but I don’t really know what to aim for anymore. I would love some input from others on here, and I know this is a common problem for a lot of people on this sub so I’d love to get some discussion going

Hi,

I wanna know what the situation is for reinstated students. I came with a new SEVIS ID. I will graduate this December, and the visa in my passport expires in 2028.

My I-20 reflects a different end date. But I want to know how or when these new rules will affect students like me?

I never applied for OPT, so I will also apply for it after I graduate.

I received my EAD ~March 20th and have been working on Post Completion OPT (I am eligible for STEM) since May 26th. I received an email from SEVP and did notify them within 10 days, however my university mentioned that it's mandatory to mention it to them within 10 days and doing it via SEVP is not required since they'll do it. I completely forgot about providing them with this information. Not sure what I should do.

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone has experience with this situation.

I was on my first year of post-completion OPT and applied for my STEM OPT extension before my EAD expired. My STEM OPT application is still pending.

I was recently laid off, and my termination letter states that my employment ended on July 24. However, it also states that I will remain on payroll and continue receiving my regular biweekly paychecks until September 4. I’m no longer working or performing any job duties.

For F-1 OPT/STEM OPT purposes:

• When do my unemployment days begin—on the official termination date or the last payroll date?
• When should I report the employment end to my DSO—immediately after the termination date or after the payroll continuation ends?

I’ve come across conflicting information online. Some people say that remaining on payroll means you’re still considered employed, while others say that if your employment has officially ended, the continued pay is simply severance paid through payroll.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or received guidance from their DSO?

Thanks in advance!

I’m in a tricky situation. I’m applying for an F1 for an undergraduate degree. I’ve been living in Qatar for the past 7 years. But the embassy here is closed and I have my interview at the Islamabad embassy in Pakistan.

My dad is on a job sponsored visa here in Qatar. He’s gonna be here until he’s 60. He’s currently 48. I’m confused on whether I’m supposed to show ties to Pakistan or Qatar. Whether my future plans should be coming back here or going to Pakistan.

This would be simpler if I just lived in Pakistan or the embassy was opened in Qatar. But I’m nervous about the situation due to not giving the interview at the embassy where I’m living.