OPT Unemployment Days: 90 and 150 Day Rules, and How to Count Them

If you are on F-1 OPT, the rule that shapes your job search most is the unemployment limit. It is short, it counts every day, and it starts earlier than many students expect. This guide explains the 90 and 150 day rules, shows how to count your own days with an example, and lists what counts as a job.

How many unemployment days do you get on OPT?

90 days in total on post-completion OPT, and 150 days in total if you get the 24-month STEM OPT extension.

Study in the States, the DHS site for students, says a student on post-completion OPT can be unemployed for a total of 90 days. The STEM OPT Hub says DHS allows 60 more days during the extension, so a STEM OPT student has a maximum of 150.

The 150 is a total for both periods. It is not a new allowance. The SEVIS unemployment counter page says the STEM OPT figure "includes any days accrued while on post completion OPT." If you used 40 days on OPT, you have 110 left on STEM OPT.

When does the count start?

On the start date on your EAD card. ASU's International Students and Scholars Center says the count starts from the start date on your EAD, and that unemployment begins that day if you are not employed.

That means the weeks between graduation and your EAD start date are free. Many students apply for OPT before they graduate and pick a start date. If your EAD starts June 1 and you have no job yet, June 1 is day 1.

SEVIS works the same way. The counter page says it looks back to the actual OPT start date and counts each day with no employer information. So a job you forgot to report also shows as unemployment.

How do you count your unemployment days?

Add up every calendar day without qualifying work since your EAD start date, across all your gaps. Binghamton puts it plainly: "Every day is counted including Saturday and Sunday." The count is a running total. It does not reset when you get a job.

Here is an example with made-up dates:

This student has 26 days left on post-completion OPT. If they later move to STEM OPT, they have 150 minus 64, which is 86 days left for the whole extension.

To count your own days:

1. Write down your EAD start date.
2. List every job with its start and end dates, as reported in the SEVP Portal.
3. Count the calendar days in each gap, including the first gap before your first job.
4. Add the gaps together and subtract from 90, or from 150 on STEM OPT.

Your DSO can see the official number. The counter page says SEVIS shows days allowed, days accrued and days remaining on the student's employment record.

What counts as employment on OPT?

Work related to your major, at least 20 hours a week. Anything less counts as unemployment. ASU says the hours of all your jobs together must be over 20 a week on post-completion OPT. On STEM OPT the rule is at least 20 hours a week per employer, per the STEM OPT Hub.

WashU's Office for International Students and Scholars lists the kinds of work that can count on post-completion OPT:

• Paid jobs, including more than one employer at once, if each is related to your major
• Contract (1099) work and work through an agency, if you can show the hours
• Self-employment, full-time, with the right business licenses
• Unpaid internships and volunteer work, at 20 or more hours a week, with proof from the employer

STEM OPT is stricter. Indiana University's international office says the position needs to be paid, and the employer must be enrolled in E-Verify. Unpaid work does not stop the clock on STEM OPT.

Keep proof of every job: offer letters, pay stubs, and a short note from any unpaid employer with your hours and duties.

Do days outside the US count?

Yes, unless the travel is part of your job or approved leave. Binghamton says unemployment days after the EAD start date count even while you are outside the United States. Time abroad for work, or on leave your employer approved, does not count as unemployment.

Binghamton also says cap-gap time is included in the 90-day limit. Cap-gap does not give you extra days.

How do you report a job so it stops the count?

Add it in the SEVP Portal within 10 days of starting or ending it. Study in the States says students must report changes in employment to their DSO within 10 days. WashU tells students to use the SEVP Portal for this, and to ask the school office if the portal will not accept the update.

Remember the rule from the counter page: SEVIS counts each day with no employer information. A job you have but did not report looks the same as no job. Study in the States also notes that if employer dates fall outside your real dates, you can show as unemployed.

On STEM OPT there are two more duties. You confirm your details every six months, and you report a loss of employment within 10 days, per the STEM OPT reporting page.

What happens if you go over the limit?

Your F-1 status is in danger. Study in the States says SEVP officials can terminate a student who reaches 90 total days of unemployment. WashU says SEVP terminates the SEVIS record within 15 days in that case.

Binghamton lists the options if you are close to the limit:

• Continue your education, through a new degree level or a transfer to another SEVP-certified school
• Leave the United States
• Take another action to keep legal status, which your DSO or an attorney can explain

Talk to your DSO well before day 90. Some options take time to set up.

How do you find a job before your days run out?

Start before your EAD start date, and apply the same day a job is posted. 90 days is about 13 weeks, and the clock does not run before your EAD starts, so that time is the best time to apply. You can't start work early, but you can interview and accept an offer.

Three habits help most:

• Apply in the first hours. New postings collect applicants fast. Our guide on how fast jobs get applicants has the numbers.
• Apply to enough jobs. A steady pace each day beats a burst once a week. See how many jobs to apply to per day.
• Check sponsorship first. Skip jobs that require citizenship, and apply to the ones that say nothing. The list is in jobs that sponsor H1B.

Careerfornia's Jobs for you shows new jobs that match your roles, from LinkedIn and company career sites. Most LinkedIn jobs appear within 40 minutes of being posted, and often within 20 (measured November 2026). Each job shows the visa sponsorship details when the posting gives them.

Auto-apply then fills the applications for the jobs you tick, one by one in your own Chrome, with a resume made for each job. It runs on your own internet connection in a tab you can watch, which matters because job systems such as Greenhouse and Ashby check the applicant's IP address for fraud. It uses your saved answers to the work authorization and sponsorship questions, and stops before Submit so you can check each form. More on that in auto-apply for international students.

Sources

All pages opened on November 10, 2026:

• Study in the States, F-1 Optional Practical Training (updated May 19, 2025)
• Study in the States, Unemployment counter (updated July 27, 2026)
• Study in the States, STEM OPT extension overview (updated April 28, 2025)
• Study in the States, STEM OPT reporting requirements (updated July 6, 2026)
• USCIS, OPT for F-1 students
• Binghamton University, Counting days of unemployment
• Arizona State University, Calculating your OPT unemployment days
• Washington University in St. Louis, While on OPT
• Indiana University, STEM OPT

Related guides: resume for international students, will you now or in the future require sponsorship, and are you legally authorized to work in the US.

Written by the Careerfornia team. First published November 10, 2026. Last updated November 10, 2026.