Beware of OPT / STEM Extension OPT Fraud (Updated May 2026)

Students who have been approved for post-completion OPT or the STEM Extension of OPT should take steps to avoid OPT fraud, as this has been identified as an enforcement target by the Department of Homeland Security. DHS identifies fraud as occurring whenever a student reports OPT or STEM Extension OPT employment that does not meet program requirements. This includes working in jobs not related to the student's major, working for ‘phantom’ companies that do not have real worksites or have real business operations, paying for job offer letters in order to satisfy OPT employment requirements, and similar examples. Students may also be victim to fake job offers that can impact their status, even unintentionally. Learn more how to detect fraudulent or ‘fake’ employment.

Engaging in fraudulent OPT employment can have extremely serious immigration consequences, including loss of OPT authorization, visa cancellations, and loss of eligibility to stay in the U.S. or to apply for future immigration benefits. If you have any questions about your employment, contact ISSS.

While on approved OPT, an F-1 student is required to report the following events within 10 days of any change:

• Start and/or end of any employment (report through SEVP Portal, except STEM Extension students who should use the OPT Employment Update request in your ISSS Gateway portal)
• Change in residential address (report through SEVP Portal)
• Change in immigration status (report through Change of Status request in your ISSS Gateway portal)
• Permanent departure from U.S. to end F-1 status (report through Complete Program/End OPT request in your ISSS Gateway portal)
• Change in legal name or citizenship (upload a copy of your new passport in your ISSS Gateway portal and email your ISSS advisor)

If you are unable to log into your SEVP Portal account, please request assistance by submitting the SEVP OPT Portal Access request in your ISSS Gateway portal.

Please provide OISSS with a copy of your EAD by uploading it to your ISSS Gateway portal after graduation (and again upon receipt of your STEM Extension EAD, if applicable).

Immigration regulations require that ISSS verifies whether or not any F-1 student on an approved STEM extension is participating in the employment every 6 months after the STEM extension begins. Please reply in a timely manner to emails from ISSS requesting verification so that your employment can be reported in SEVIS. Failure to respond may result in the termination of your F-1 SEVIS record. Use the STEM OPT Data Validation request in your ISSS Gateway portal to notify your DSO that your information in the SEVP portal is accurate.

Students on the STEM Extension are also required to submit an annual self-evaluation (page 5 of the I-983 Form) signed by their employer to ISSS after their first year on the STEM Extension and again at the end of their STEM Extension (either after the second year, or earlier if they change status or stop using OPT). It is the student's responsibility to remember to submit the self-evaluation to ISSS in a timely manner. Please use the OPT STEM Self-Evaluation request in your ISSS Gateway portal to submit your self-evaluation.

More information about STEM reporting can be found in the ISSS STEM OPT Video Series.