What Is Pre-Completion OPT?
Short answer
Pre-completion OPT, often called pre-OPT, is work authorization F-1 students use before completing their degree. It allows work directly related to your major, up to 20 hours per week while school is in session and full time during official breaks, and it draws from the same 12 months as post-completion OPT.
Work Authorization Before You Graduate
Pre-completion OPT is one of the two phases of Optional Practical Training, temporary employment authorization for work directly related to an F-1 student's major area of study. The pre-completion phase covers work done before your program end date, while you are still enrolled. Pre-OPT is an informal name for the same authorization.
The regulation requires one full academic year of lawful full-time enrollment at a SEVP-certified school before the training can begin, and time spent in another immigration status can count toward that year. You apply to USCIS with Form I-765 after your DSO enters the OPT recommendation in SEVIS, and you cannot start working until the start date printed on your EAD arrives.
Source: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10), Practical training for F-1 students
Source: USCIS Optional Practical Training, Pre-completion OPT requirements
Hours While School Is in Session and During Breaks
While school is in session, pre-completion OPT is capped at 20 hours per week. During your annual vacation and other times when school is not in session, you may work full time, provided you are enrolled and intend to register for the next term.
Your DSO records each authorization as part-time or full-time in SEVIS, and the distinction matters later because the two are deducted from your OPT total at different rates.
Source: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A), Hours limits for pre-completion OPT
It Draws From Your 12-Month OPT Total
Each degree level comes with 12 months of OPT, shared between the pre-completion and post-completion phases. Time used before graduation is deducted from what remains afterward: part-time months at half rate, full-time months in full. The exact math is in how pre-completion OPT reduces the 12 months.
Because of that deduction, many students weigh pre-completion OPT against CPT before spending OPT time on work during their studies. The pre-completion vs post-completion OPT guide walks through the trade-off in detail.
Source: USCIS Optional Practical Training, Deduction of pre-completion OPT from post-completion OPT
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Related Questions
What Are Pre-Completion and Post-Completion OPT?
They are the two phases of Optional Practical Training. Pre-completion OPT is used before your program end date and is capped at 20 hours per week while school is in session. Post-completion OPT begins after your program ends and allows full-time work. Both draw from the same 12 months per degree level.
Read answerDoes Pre-Completion OPT Reduce the 12 Months of OPT?
Yes. Every period of pre-completion OPT is deducted from the 12 months of OPT available at your degree level. Part-time pre-completion OPT of 20 hours per week or less is deducted at half rate, so two part-time months cost one month of the total. Full-time pre-completion OPT is deducted at the full rate.
Read answerCan F-1 Students Work Before Graduation on OPT?
Yes. Pre-completion OPT lets F-1 students work in jobs directly related to their major before graduation: up to 20 hours per week while school is in session and full time during annual vacation and other official breaks. It requires one full academic year of enrollment and an EAD in hand before work starts.
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