I was working on OPT when my employer filed an H1B petition for me. The petition is currently pending. I understand that when my EAD expires next week, I will continue to be in F-1 status with employment authorization based on the cap gap rule….

… Should I obtain a new I-20 for the cap-gap extension of my OPT authorization? If yes, what information do I need to provide to my DSO to issue this I-20?

Answer

Even though the cap-gap extension is automatic, it is advisable that you obtain a new I-20 to reflect the extension of your cap-gap employment authorization. In most cases, your SEVIS record would already contain the information about the pending or already-approved H1B petition. If so, your DSO would not need any additional information to generate the new I-20 for the cap-gap benefit. However, in some cases, SEVIS does not get updated with the information about the H1B filing. In that case, you may need to present a copy of the H1B receipt notice to your DSO to add this information to your SEVIS record so that a new cap-gap I-20 can be generated. (29.May.2015)

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