How Many Unemployment Days Are Allowed on OPT?

The Limit Is 90 Cumulative Days

F-1 students on post-completion OPT may not accumulate more than 90 days of unemployment between the OPT start date printed on the EAD and the OPT end date. The count begins on that start date even if your first job has not started yet.

The 90 days are cumulative, not consecutive, and they never reset. Starting a job stops the count where it stands. If you used 30 days before your first job and are later laid off, the count resumes at day 31 and you have 60 days left.

Source: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E), OPT unemployment day limits

Which Days Count

Every calendar day without qualifying employment counts, including Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. Qualifying employment is work of at least 20 hours per week directly related to your degree field.

• Days from your OPT start date until your first job begins count.
• Days between two jobs count, including the weekends in the gap.
• Days when you work fewer than 20 hours per week count.
• Days abroad while unemployed count. Leaving the US does not pause the count.

Paid vacation and sick leave inside a job you still hold do not count, because the job has not ended. The OPT unemployment days guide lists every category that counts and every exclusion.

STEM OPT Raises the Total to 150

Students who receive the 24-month STEM OPT extension have 150 days total across the combined 36 months of initial OPT plus the extension. Days used during initial OPT count toward the same 150. During the first 12 months, the 90-day limit still applies.