{"id":24175,"date":"2024-01-16T19:37:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T19:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/?page_id=24175"},"modified":"2025-03-18T19:14:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T19:14:00","slug":"pre-completion-opt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt","title":{"rendered":"Pre-completion OPT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-highlight-paragraph-grey-background\">Pre-completion OPT allows you to receive up to 12-months of employment authorization for supplemental work experience related to your program of study, while actively enrolled in courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Basic Rules and Restrictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pre-completion OPT can only be used for F-1 students who have completed one academic year of continuous full-time enrollment in their program of study. <strong>Undergraduate students must have declared their major.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Authorized Pre-completion OPT will deduct time from Post-completion OPT.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Part-time Pre-completion OPT is deducted from Post-completion OPT at half rate. This means if you&#8217;re authorized for 180 days, only 90 days will be deducted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once authorized, <strong>you will not get back unused time<\/strong>. Use it or lose it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All employment must relate to your program of study.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All in-person employment must be local to the surrounding Seattle area while class is in session.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Authorization is authorized for either part-time (20 hours\/week) or full time (&gt;20 hours\/week).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pre-completion OPT is <strong>limited to Part-time (20 hours\/week)<\/strong> while class is in session.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you&#8217;re authorized for part-time Pre-completion OPT, you cannot freely switch to full-time just because class is not in session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pre-completion OPT and on-campus employment limits are seen as one. You have 20 hours\/week of employment time to use between them, and cannot go beyond when combined. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Employment cannot exceed your program end date.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ISS will <strong>not <\/strong>recommend Pre-completion OPT for the purpose of starting Post-completion OPT early. Your Pre-completion OPT must be a distinct training experience that concludes by your program end date.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you wish to continue your practical training after your program end date, you will need to apply for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/post-completion-opt\">Post-completion OPT<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Application Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Eligible to apply<strong> 90 days<\/strong> before being enrolled for one academic year.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, If you started in Autumn quarter, you would be eligible to apply up to 90 days before the end of the following Spring quarter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Request an OPT recommendation (a new I-20). The OPT request takes roughly <strong>7 &#8211; 10 days<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use your OPT recommendation to file an I-765 (using category C3A) with USCIS.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Receiving approval from USCIS takes roughly <strong>90 days<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After receiving approval, you will be sent an Employment Authorization Document via USPS. This can take <strong>1 &#8211; 2 weeks<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Apply<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/?page_id=24180\">See our Pre-completion OPT application page<\/a> for details on every step of the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Requirements &amp; FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/?page_id=24183\">See our Pre-completion OPT Requirements &amp; FAQ page<\/a> for everything you must know while on Pre-completion OPT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pre-completion OPT allows you to receive up to 12-months of employment authorization for supplemental work experience related to your program of study, while actively enrolled in courses. Basic Rules and Restrictions Application Timeline Apply See our Pre-completion OPT application page for details on every step of the application. Requirements &amp; FAQ See our Pre-completion OPT&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"parent":24143,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24175","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"Contact Us","email":"test@uwb.edu","phone":"(206) 999-1234","box":"Box 358500","address_line_1":"18115 Campus Way NE","address_line_2":"Bothell, WA 98011-8246","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pre-completion OPT - International Student Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pre-completion OPT - International Student Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pre-completion OPT allows you to receive up to 12-months of employment authorization for supplemental work experience related to your program of study, while actively enrolled in courses. Basic Rules and Restrictions Application Timeline Apply See our Pre-completion OPT application page for details on every step of the application. Requirements &amp; FAQ See our Pre-completion OPT...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Student Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-18T19:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt\",\"name\":\"Pre-completion OPT - International Student Services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-16T19:37:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-18T19:14:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"F-1 Benefits\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Practical Training\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Pre-completion OPT\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"\/#website\",\"url\":\"\/\",\"name\":\"International Student Services\",\"description\":\"Just another UW Bothell site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pre-completion OPT - International Student Services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pre-completion OPT - International Student Services","og_description":"Pre-completion OPT allows you to receive up to 12-months of employment authorization for supplemental work experience related to your program of study, while actively enrolled in courses. Basic Rules and Restrictions Application Timeline Apply See our Pre-completion OPT application page for details on every step of the application. Requirements &amp; FAQ See our Pre-completion OPT...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt","og_site_name":"International Student Services","article_modified_time":"2025-03-18T19:14:00+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt","url":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt","name":"Pre-completion OPT - International Student Services","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-01-16T19:37:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-18T19:14:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training\/pre-completion-opt#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"F-1 Benefits","item":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Practical Training","item":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/f-1-benefits\/practical-training"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Pre-completion OPT"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"\/#website","url":"\/","name":"International Student Services","description":"Just another UW Bothell site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24175"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25095,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24175\/revisions\/25095"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/international-student-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}