The 60-Day Grace Period After OPT Ends: What You Can and Cannot Do
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026
The grace period after post-completion OPT ends lets you stay in the US to prepare to leave, transfer schools, or change status, and you do not work at all during it. It runs 60 days if you were admitted for duration of status and are maintaining status on September 15, 2026, and 30 days if you were admitted on or after that date under the DHS fixed period of admission rule.
🛂 Check the Admit Until Date on your most recent I-94. A value of D/S means the 60-day window. A calendar date means 30 days.
⏱️ The grace period starts the day after your OPT authorization (EAD) ends, not the day you stop working.
💵 No paid or unpaid work is allowed once your EAD end date passes.
Transfer your SEVIS record to a new school to begin another degree.
File to change to another visa status, such as a pending H-1B case.
Leaving the US during the grace period ends your F-1 status for this purpose.
A SEVIS record already terminated, for example for too many unemployment days, gets no grace period.
When the grace period starts and how long it runs
The grace period begins the day after your post-completion OPT authorization ends, meaning the day after the end date printed on your EAD, according to the ICE SEVP employment page , current as of August 2026. It gives you time to close out your life in the US before your F-1 status ends.
The length is 60 calendar days for one group of students and 30 for another, so settle which group you are in before you count out dates.
DHS published a final rule on July 17, 2026 that replaces duration of status with a fixed period of admission for F, J and I nonimmigrants, effective September 15, 2026 (Federal Register, DHS final rule 2026-14439 ). Students admitted under that fixed-period framework, meaning admissions on or after September 15, 2026, get 30 days after their authorized period ends.
The rule also carries a transition provision for students already in the country. F nonimmigrants who were previously admitted for duration of status and are properly maintaining status on September 15, 2026 stay authorized through the program end date on the I-20 that is valid that day, capped at four years from the effective date, plus an additional 60 days to depart. For that group the 60-day grace period stands.
| How you were admitted | Grace period after OPT ends |
|---|---|
| Duration of status, properly maintaining status on September 15, 2026 | 60 days |
| Fixed period of admission, admitted on or after September 15, 2026 | 30 days |
Work out which line you are on by pulling your most recent I-94 admission record from the CBP website and reading the Admit Until Date field. A value of D/S means you were admitted for duration of status, so the 60-day window applies as long as you were maintaining status on September 15, 2026.
A calendar date there means you were admitted for a fixed period, so plan on 30 days. Ask your DSO to confirm before you book travel, since your SEVIS record and I-20 drive the same dates.
This grace period only applies if you completed your OPT in good standing. If DHS already terminated your SEVIS record, for example for exceeding the allowed unemployment days, you do not get a grace period at all.
This is the OPT-specific grace period. If you complete your degree without ever applying for OPT, a period of the same length starts on your program end date instead, governed by the same USCIS Policy Manual chapter linked below.
A typical grace period timeline
If your EAD end date is June 15 and you hold the 60-day window, your grace period runs from June 16 through August 14. On the 30-day window it runs from June 16 through July 15.
You need to depart, complete a school transfer, or file for a change of status by that final date to remain in the US afterward.
Grace period versus unemployment days
Do not confuse the grace period, 60 days or 30 days, with the 90-day, or 150-day for STEM OPT, unemployment limit that applies while your OPT is still active. The grace period starts only after your OPT authorization has already ended, whether you used all, some, or none of your unemployment days before that point.
What you are allowed to do
Prepare to depart the United States and travel home.
Ask your DSO to transfer your SEVIS record to a new SEVP-certified school to begin another degree.
File an application or petition with USCIS to change to another nonimmigrant or immigrant status.
Remain in the country while a timely filed change of status petition, such as an H-1B case, is pending, according to the USCIS Policy Manual .
What you are not allowed to do
Work in any job, paid or unpaid, once your EAD end date passes.
Travel outside the United States and expect to re-enter on the same grace period. Departure ends your F-1 status for this purpose.
Extend the grace period for any reason. The window is fixed once it starts.
How a pending H-1B case interacts with the grace period
If your employer files a cap-subject H-1B petition as a change of status before your OPT or its cap-gap extension ends, and your registration was selected, F-1 status and work authorization typically extend automatically through April 1 of the H-1B fiscal year for which the petition is filed, or until USCIS decides the case if that happens sooner (this replaced the older September 30 cutoff under a DHS rule effective 2025). Confirm the current cap-gap details with your DSO, since H-1B and OPT policy shifts often.
If cap-gap does not apply to your case, your grace period starts on the day your EAD expires and runs on its own timeline, 60 days or 30 days depending on how you were admitted. You still do not work during that window even while an H-1B petition is pending.
Your employer needs to properly file the H-1B petition while your F-1 status, including any authorized OPT or its grace period, is still valid. A petition filed after your status has already lapsed does not qualify for the automatic cap-gap extension.
What happens if you let the 60 days pass
Once the grace period ends without a change of status, a school transfer, or your departure, you accrue unlawful presence. That affects future visa applications and reentry to the US. Set a personal deadline well before your last day, day 60 or day 30, so you have time to book travel or complete paperwork.
If you plan to depart
Book travel before your grace period ends, not on the last day, in case of flight changes or document delays.
Ask your DSO for a final travel signature on your I-20 if you plan to depart and are not transferring or changing status.
Settle housing, banking, and phone contracts before you leave, since managing US accounts from abroad gets harder.
Filing taxes after your grace period
You still owe US tax filings for income earned during the tax year even after your grace period ends and you leave the country. Keep your final pay stubs and any tax documents your employer sends, since you file from abroad the following spring using the mailing address on record with the IRS.
What your DSO records during the grace period
Your DSO updates SEVIS to reflect your grace period dates once your OPT ends. If you request a transfer or a change of status, your DSO documents that request in the same system, which keeps your record consistent if a future school or employer needs to verify your history.
Do not confuse this with the STEM OPT automatic extension
This grace period is separate from the 180-day automatic extension available while a STEM OPT extension application is pending. That protection applies only if you filed the extension before your original OPT EAD expired, not after your grace period has already started.