Updated
Cap-gap and OPT days
How far a pending H-1B carries F-1 status and OPT, and the unemployment days OPT has left. Dates and citations.
How long the cap-gap lasts
The end date on the EAD.
Usually October 1.
Once USCIS approves it.
OPT ends
Extended until
OPT unemployment days left
STEM extension granted
Before any stretch going on now.
The first day of a stretch going on now.
Unemployment days used
FAQs
What is the cap-gap?
The months between an F-1 student's OPT ending in spring or summer and an H-1B starting on October 1. Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vii), a timely filed, nonfrivolous cap petition asking for a change of status extends the student's F-1 status and OPT work authorization across it.
Until when does the cap-gap last now?
Until April 1 of the H-1B fiscal year, or the approved petition's start date if that comes first. The H-1B modernization rule (89 FR 103054, effective January 17, 2025) moved it from October 1, so a petition still pending on October 1 no longer ends the extension that day.
What ends it early?
The petition being rejected, denied, revoked or withdrawn, or the change of status being denied or withdrawn, even when the petition is approved for consular processing instead (8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vii)(B)).
How many unemployment days does OPT allow?
90 in all during post-completion OPT. With a 24-month STEM extension granted, 150 in all across the whole OPT period, the first part included (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E)).
Is this legal advice?
No. It's the regulation's arithmetic on the dates you enter. Whether a petition was timely or nonfrivolous, and which days count as employment, are for the school's DSO and the attorney who files.
The rules behind these numbers
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it