As of October 21, 2026, OPT unemployment days are capped at 90 for F-1 students on post-completion optional practical training (OPT), and at 150 in total for students who receive the 24-month STEM OPT extension, counting both periods together (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E)). The limit is an aggregate, so separate gaps between jobs add up. The STEM extension adds 60 days to the cap rather than starting a new count (81 FR 13040).
Posts claiming the limit has been cut to 60 days are wrong. Neither the regulation nor SEVP's own guidance, last updated July 27, 2026, says so (SEVIS Help Hub, Unemployment Counter). What follows is how the days are actually counted.
- Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E), students may not accrue more than 90 days of unemployment in aggregate during post-completion OPT.
- Students granted a 24-month STEM OPT extension may not accrue more than 150 days of unemployment across the whole OPT period, including the initial 12 months.
- The STEM extension adds 60 days to the limit; days already used on post-completion OPT carry over.
- SEVIS counts each day without employer information, starting from the Actual OPT Start Date.
- When a student is unemployed, weekends and holidays count toward the limit, according to SEVP.
- The USCIS Policy Manual says time spent overseas counts toward the unemployment limit, and so does unemployment during a cap-gap extension.
- No published regulation or SEVP page reduces the limit to 60 days as of October 21, 2026.
What does the regulation say about OPT unemployment days?
The rule is one paragraph in the F-1 regulations. It opens:
"During post-completion OPT, F-1 status is dependent upon employment. Students may not accrue an aggregate of more than 90 days of unemployment during any post-completion OPT period described in 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(3)(i)(B)." 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E)
The same paragraph says a student granted a 24-month STEM OPT extension may not accrue more than 150 days of unemployment "during a total OPT period," including the initial post-completion OPT period and the extension (8 CFR 214.2, 2025 edition). The current eCFR text of the paragraph is word for word the same (eCFR, 8 CFR 214.2 as of October 19, 2026). The USCIS Policy Manual restates both limits (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 5).
The word "aggregate" matters. Since a SEVIS release in October 2018, SEVIS has calculated the total number of unemployment days rather than only the current run of consecutive days (Study in the States, October 16, 2018).
When does the OPT unemployment clock start?
On your OPT start date, not your graduation date or the day you filed. SEVP's 2010 OPT policy guidance, which the SEVIS Help Hub still links to, says each day without qualifying employment counts from the point OPT authorization begins, and that it begins on the employment start date shown on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). SEVIS itself looks back to the Actual OPT Start Date and counts each day without employer information (SEVIS Help Hub, Unemployment Counter).
Two consequences follow. Waiting for an approval does not cost you days: in a July 2026 rule preamble, DHS said a student without valid OPT employment authorization will not incur unemployment time in SEVIS (91 FR 44976). And a job only stops the count once SEVIS has it: a record that lacks employer information is treated as unemployed (SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 OPT). The same Help Hub page notes that employer dates falling outside your actual OPT dates will make SEVIS show you as unemployed.
If an EAD is lost and USCIS issues a replacement, the 2010 guidance says the clock starts after the replacement is issued (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). Unemployment never lengthens your OPT: the STEM extension runs 24 consecutive months and is not extended by periods of part-time work or unemployment (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 5).
Do weekends and holidays count?
Only when you have no job. SEVP's explanation:
"When a student is considered unemployed, every day, including weekends and holidays, counts toward your unemployment limit." Study in the States, "OPT Students: What to Do If Your Employer Closes During the Holidays" (December 22, 2016)
If you are employed, weekends, holidays and other equivalent days off your employer provides do not count, and SEVP does not treat an extended employer closure over the winter holidays as unemployment. Extra days you take off without leave authorized by your employer do (Study in the States). Students on pre-completion OPT have no unemployment limit at all (Study in the States).
What counts as employment on OPT?
Under SEVP's 2010 guidance, you must work at least 20 hours a week in a qualifying position, related to your degree, to be considered employed; a variable schedule should average at least 20 hours a week within a month (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). A 12-hour-a-week job, in other words, does not stop the clock.
On regular post-completion OPT, that guidance accepts several kinds of work: multiple employers, short-term gigs for performing artists, 1099 contract work, self-employment with proper business licenses, work through an agency or consulting firm, and unpaid volunteer or intern roles of at least 20 hours a week where this does not violate labor laws (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03).
STEM OPT is narrower. The employer must be enrolled in E-Verify (SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 STEM OPT), and the student may not train for less than 20 hours a week (8 CFR 214.2, 2025 edition). DHS's 2016 rule says a volunteer role cannot support a STEM extension and that the work must involve a bona fide employer-employee relationship; it names sole proprietorships, temp agencies and labor-for-hire consulting arrangements as poor fits (81 FR 13040). The degree and employer requirements are covered in our guide to the STEM OPT extension rules.
Does STEM OPT reset the unemployment clock?
No. SEVP puts it plainly: a student on STEM OPT can be unemployed for a total of 150 days, and this includes any of the remaining 90 days from standard post-completion OPT (SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 STEM OPT). DHS described the 2016 change as keeping the 90-day maximum for initial OPT and allowing "an additional 60 days (for a total of 150 days)" with the extension (81 FR 13040).
If you used 70 days during your first 12 months, you have 80 left for the next 24.
A genuinely new period of post-completion OPT is different. The 90-day limit applies "during any post-completion OPT period" (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E)), and SEVP's 2010 guidance, answering a question about a student who splits OPT between two degrees at the same education level, says that for each new period of post-completion OPT the student has the full 90 days (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). Whether you qualify for a new period is a question for your DSO.
Does time outside the United States count as unemployment?
Usually, yes. The USCIS Policy Manual says:
"Time spent outside of the United States does not extend the period of authorized Optional Practical Training (OPT). Time spent overseas counts towards the F-1 student's aggregate maximum allowed period of unemployment." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part F, Chapter 7
SEVP's 2010 guidance names two exceptions: when you are employed and on leave authorized by your employer, and when you are traveling as part of your job (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). A trip home between jobs, by contrast, adds a day to your count for every day you are away.
Delays abroad are not paused either. In the July 2026 rule, DHS responded to a request to pause the OPT unemployment clock during 221(g) visa administrative processing by saying such changes were beyond the scope of that rulemaking (91 FR 44976). To return to resume OPT you need an unexpired EAD and a Form I-20 endorsed for reentry by your DSO within the last six months (8 CFR 214.2(f)(13)(ii)), plus a current visa where one is required (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 7).
Does the clock keep running during the H-1B cap-gap?
Yes. USCIS says unemployment during the cap-gap automatic extension counts toward the 90-day or 150-day cumulative maximum (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 5). Our guide to the H-1B cap-gap extension explains how that period works.
What happens at day 90 (or day 150)?
SEVP officials can manually terminate the SEVIS record of a student who accrues more unemployment than the regulations allow (SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 STEM OPT). SEVIS keeps a list of students terminated for exceeding the maximum (SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 OPT).
SEVP's 2010 guidance treats a student who exceeds the limit as having violated status unless they have applied to change education level or transfer to another SEVP-certified school, departed the United States, or taken action to otherwise maintain legal status. It adds that DHS may deny future benefits that depend on valid F-1 status, and that a DSO is not responsible for calculating unemployment time (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03).
Do not count on a grace period after the limit. The 60-day departure period applies to a student who has completed their studies and any authorized practical training, but the regulation adds:
"However, an F-1 student who fails to maintain a full course of study without the approval of the DSO or otherwise fails to maintain status is not eligible for an additional period for departure." 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(iv)
The 60-day grace period after a job loss that H-1B, O-1, L-1 and TN workers get comes from a different rule, 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), and F-1 is not on its list (8 CFR 214.1, 2025 edition). DHS proposed on September 11, 2026 to remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) altogether (91 FR 57807); our post on the 60-day grace period proposal covers it. Separately, a July 2026 DHS rule would cut the F-1 post-OPT departure period from 60 to 30 days (91 FR 44976), but a federal court postponed its effective date on September 14, 2026, pending further order or a decision on the merits (Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, ECF No. 51). DHS filed a notice of appeal to the First Circuit on September 30, 2026 (Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, ECF No. 53). The eCFR already displays the rule's 30-day text (eCFR, 8 CFR 214.2 as of October 19, 2026), but under the court order that text has not taken effect.
The guidance is clear about timing: before reaching the limit, a student should prepare to transfer, change education level, depart, or take other action to maintain status (SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03). A change of status is one such route; our guide to switching from OPT to an O-1 covers the timing.
How do you report and track your days?
Every OPT student must report a change of name or address, or an interruption of employment, to the DSO (8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(i)). STEM OPT students must report a change of employer name or address, or a loss of employment, within 10 days and complete a validation report every six months (8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(ii)), and STEM employers must tell the DSO within five business days if the student leaves (81 FR 13040). STEM students can edit most employer information in the SEVP Portal, but not the employment start date (SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 STEM OPT).
Your DSO can see an unemployment counter in SEVIS showing days allowed, days accrued and days remaining for your current OPT period (SEVIS Help Hub, Unemployment Counter).
Is the OPT unemployment rule changing?
Not yet. DHS's October 8, 2026 proposal is about fees for OPT, not unemployment limits, and it is still a proposed rule (91 FR 64566); see our post on the proposed OPT fee. A separate ICE rulemaking titled "Practical Training" (RIN 1653-AA97) sits at the proposed rule stage on the regulatory agenda, with a proposal listed for February 2027 and no text published (Reginfo.gov, RIN 1653-AA97). Until a final rule changes 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E), the 90-day and 150-day limits stand.
What this means for you
The count runs every calendar day you lack a qualifying job, including weekends, trips home and the cap-gap. The common practical risk is a count that drifts because SEVIS does not have your current employer.
- Ask your DSO for your SEVIS unemployment counter, especially before starting STEM OPT.
- Report every new job, job end and employer change promptly, and confirm the dates landed in SEVIS.
- Keep evidence for each job: title, dates, hours, supervisor contact and how it relates to your degree.
- Make sure any job is at least 20 hours a week; on STEM OPT, confirm the employer uses E-Verify.
- Treat a trip abroad between jobs as unemployment days, and plan around visa delays.
- Decide your next step well before the limit; there is no grace period after you exceed it.
- Ask your attorney about change of status options if a gap looks likely to run long.
Where to start
If OPT is your bridge to something longer term, start with the free evaluation to see how your record compares with the O-1, EB-1A and EB-2 NIW criteria. Frank, our AI assistant, then finds real opportunities for the criteria you are missing. Unemployment counts and SEVIS records are questions for your DSO; when you are ready to file, petitions are reviewed and filed by our partner law firm, Lai & Turner.
Sources
All checked October 21, 2026.
- 8 CFR 214.2, 2025 edition, via govinfo (revised as of January 1, 2025). The 90-day and 150-day limits, 20-hour STEM minimum, reporting rules, reentry rule and 60-day departure period.
- eCFR, 8 CFR 214.2 as of October 19, 2026 (checked October 21, 2026). Current text of the unemployment paragraph, unchanged; display of the postponed 30-day departure text.
- 8 CFR 214.1, 2025 edition, via govinfo (revised as of January 1, 2025). The 60-day grace period for listed worker classifications, which does not include F-1.
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part F, Chapter 5, Practical Training (current as of October 2, 2026). The limits, cap-gap unemployment and the fixed STEM OPT period.
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part F, Chapter 7, Absences From the United States (current as of October 2, 2026). Time overseas counts toward unemployment; reentry documents.
- SEVIS Help Hub, Unemployment Counter (last updated July 27, 2026). How SEVIS counts days and what the counter shows.
- SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) (last updated May 19, 2025). Missing employer information counts as unemployment; termination list.
- SEVIS Help Hub, F-1 STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) Extension (last updated July 27, 2026). The 150-day total, E-Verify, SEVP Portal and manual termination.
- Study in the States, OPT Students: What to Do If Your Employer Closes During the Holidays (December 22, 2016). Weekends, holidays and employer closures.
- Study in the States, DSOs: Prepare for SEVIS Release 6.41 and Share these Unemployment Reminders (October 16, 2018). SEVIS switch to counting total, not consecutive, days.
- SEVP Policy Guidance 1004-03, Update to Optional Practical Training (April 23, 2010). Clock start, 20-hour rule, types of employment, travel exceptions and consequences; its 17-month and 120-day figures were superseded in 2016.
- DHS, Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students With STEM Degrees and Cap-Gap Relief for All Eligible F-1 Students, Final Rule, 81 FR 13040 (March 11, 2016). The additional 60 days, volunteer and employer-employee limits, employer reporting.
- DHS, Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media, Final Rule, 91 FR 44976 (July 17, 2026). DHS statements on unemployment time and the 221(g) pause request; the 30-day departure provision.
- Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, No. 1:26-cv-13799-FDS, Preliminary Injunction Order, ECF No. 51 (D. Mass. Sept. 14, 2026). Postponement of the July 2026 rule's effective date.
- Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, No. 1:26-cv-13799, Notice of Appeal, ECF No. 53 (D. Mass. Sept. 30, 2026). DHS appeal to the First Circuit.
- DHS, Optional Practical Training Fees, Proposed Rule, 91 FR 64566 (October 8, 2026). The OPT fee proposal.
- Reginfo.gov, RIN 1653-AA97, Practical Training (Unified Agenda entry, checked October 21, 2026). Planned practical training rule, proposal listed for February 2027.
- DHS, Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period, Proposed Rule, 91 FR 57807 (September 11, 2026). Proposal to remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2).
Frequently asked questions
Does STEM OPT reset my OPT unemployment days?
No. The STEM OPT extension raises the overall limit from 90 to 150 days, but the 150 days cover the whole OPT period, including the initial 12 months of post-completion OPT. Any days you used before the extension carry over. A student who was unemployed for 70 days on post-completion OPT has 80 days left once the STEM extension is approved, not a fresh 150.
Do weekends count as OPT unemployment days?
It depends on whether you have a job. SEVP says that when a student on post-completion or STEM OPT is unemployed, every day counts toward the limit, including weekends and holidays. When you are employed, weekends, holidays and employer closures do not count, but extra days you take off without leave authorized by your employer do count toward unemployment.
Do days spent outside the US count as unemployment on OPT?
Generally yes. The USCIS Policy Manual says time spent overseas counts toward an F-1 student's aggregate maximum allowed period of unemployment, and that travel does not extend the OPT period. SEVP's 2010 OPT guidance carves out two cases: employer-authorized leave while you are employed, and travel that is part of your job. A trip abroad between jobs adds to your count every day you are away.
What happens if I go over 90 days of unemployment on OPT?
SEVP officials can manually terminate the SEVIS record of a student who exceeds the limit, and SEVP's guidance treats the student as having violated status unless they have already moved to a new program, departed, or taken other steps to maintain status. The regulation also denies the usual 60-day departure period to a student who has failed to maintain status, so the time to act is before the limit.
Has the OPT unemployment limit been cut to 60 days?
No. As of October 21, 2026, the regulation at 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E) still sets the limits at 90 days for post-completion OPT and 150 days with a STEM extension, and SEVP's SEVIS Help Hub, updated July 27, 2026, states the same numbers. The October 2026 OPT fee proposal does not change them, and a separate practical training rule is still only planned.
Green Card Guide AI is not a law firm and this article is not legal advice. It describes evidence-building strategy in general terms; your attorney determines what belongs in your petition and how it's argued.
