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Reporting OPT Employment

Reporting OPT Employment

Owned by Brian Todd
Last updated: May 28, 2025

This guide explains how students may report OPT or STEM OPT employment to SEVIS as required by F-1 OPT regulations.

Standard 12 Month OPT Employment Reporting

Federal regulations require that international students report the following changes to properly maintain their student status:

  • Physical home address

  • Mailing addresses

  • Telephone numbers

  • OPT employer information

  • Changes to employment information

These changes may be reported in the SEVP Portal and/or via the iVols portal.

Immigration regulations, specifically 8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(i) requires the OPT student to report changes of name or address, changes in employment, or the interruption of employment during the OPT period.

Students may review details about requirements for OPT employment reporting on the Study in the States website: https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevp-portal-help/maintain-information/opt-student-reporting-requirements

Reporting OPT in iVols

Login to iVols with your Net ID and Password. Then access the “F-1 Practical Training” section. Select the “OPT Employment Reporting Form”

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This form contains conditional logic. As you fill the form, your options will update based on the answers you provide on the form. Please book an appointment with an ISSS advisor if you need assistance.

Take some time to carefully answer each of the questions on the form.

Pay special attention to the “Changes Being Reported” section. If this is your first time reporting OPT employment, please select “yes” to the prompt “I am reporting a new Job”

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Please note that you will need information about your employer, such as the employer name, job start date, whether the job is full-time, part-time, and the employer’s address. In addition, you are required to explain how the employment is related to the course work in your academic program of study. Finally, you must be able to provide your supervisor’s first and last names, phone number, and email address.

Special Circumstances

Name of Employer

Students should check with their employer to find out the official name of the employer according to E-verify. The official name of the employer should be reported to the SEVP portal or to ISSS. Sometimes an employer is know by multiple names. For example, a student who works at “Oak Ridge National Lab” may have an official employer named “UT-Battelle, LLC” or “Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education”. Please verify the official name of the employer before reporting to the SEVP portal or with the “OPT Employment Reporting form” in the iVols portal. Reporting the employer name correctly allows for consistency if the student applies for the STEM OPT extension.

Mismatched Employment and Residential Addresses

Please provide the site of your employment activity for your employment address. This may be your home address (if employed remotely), or in the case of employment through a staffing agency, the location of the site of the work being performed, not the office address of the staffing agency.