My OPT expires in mid-May, and my employer is filing an H1B petition for me on April 3rd, requesting a start date of October 1st. …

… Because the USCIS has suspended premium processing, we may not know if my petition has been accepted until the USCIS issues a regular receipt notice or returns the petition. Will I have to stop working when my OPT expires if we do not get the receipt notice by then?

Answer

You should not have to immediately stop working at the time your OPT authorization expires in this scenario. SEVP has previously indicated that all properly filed petitions would extend F-1 status with employment authorization until at least June 1, which would be followed by a 60-day grace period, if the filing is returned to the employer. (10.Mar.2017)

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