ISSUES
What to Know About Optional Practical Training
Posted: November 27, 2019
Modified: July 29, 2020
MORE THAN A MILLION international students are studying at U.S. colleges and universities. For many of them, the opportunity doesn’t end after graduation thanks to the federal Optional Practical Training program, known as OPT, which for decades has allowed them to temporarily work in the U.S.
Both recent graduates and current international students alike are eligible for OPT.
There were 223,085 international students engaged in OPT programs in the 2018-19 academic year, an increase of nearly 10% over the prior year, according to data from the 2019 Open Doors Report on International Education released by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
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