OPT timeline: organize your application dates

Use the program end date on your current Form I-20 as your planning anchor. A graduation ceremony, final exam and program end can fall on different days. Keep the source beside each date so you can check it again when a record changes.

The DSO recommendation in SEVIS is a separate event. Ask your designated school official to confirm when it was entered; do not assume that a document download or print date is the same event.

• Program end date from your current I-20
• Date your DSO entered the OPT recommendation in SEVIS
• Requested employment start date
• Actual filing information and, later, the dates on your EAD

A useful plan shows both the window associated with your program and the clock associated with the DSO recommendation. One date alone cannot establish your last safe filing day. Before submitting, confirm the applicable rules, filing method and current instructions with your DSO.

OPT Buddy labels its 2026 transition calculations as projections where current legal operation has not been fully verified. A calendar result is preparation guidance. Check the live USCIS instructions and any applicable transition guidance before relying on a deadline.

In OPT Buddy, create a Free account, choose post-completion OPT, and enter the facts you have confirmed. Review the resulting milestones alongside the source links. Keep missing dates marked as unknown instead of filling them with guesses.

Use a weekly check-in to record what changed: a new recommendation, a submitted application, a receipt or an EAD. Calendar export helps you put planning milestones beside school and work commitments; it does not submit an application or monitor USCIS for you.

A receipt and a requested start date are different from an approval. Record the EAD details when available, and confirm employment authorization before starting work. Another student's approval timeline is not a prediction for your case.

For a notice, status problem or time-sensitive legal question, contact your DSO or a qualified immigration attorney. OPT Buddy support can help with the app and your account; it cannot decide immigration eligibility.

Use these primary sources and your school's instructions before acting. The editorial update above is not a certification of current legal status or a promise of ongoing monitoring.

• USCIS: Optional Practical Training for F-1 students
• USCIS: Form I-765, instructions and alerts
• DHS: F-1 Optional Practical Training

Preview a fictional timeline, then create your own Free workspace. Your plan helps organize records and questions; it does not submit forms or replace professional advice.