Countries / United States
United States
Spend your OPT days on real doors.
OPT gives you time to find work. Here’s how much, what the H-1B step looks like, and how to tell which employers have sponsored before.
The route after study
- OPT lets you work for up to 12 months in a job related to your major. With a STEM degree, you may add 24 months of STEM OPT.
- STEM OPT employers must use E-Verify.
- To stay longer, most people need an employer to file for an H-1B, which usually means a lottery. Universities and some nonprofit research employers are cap-exempt: no lottery.
- H-1B rules and fees have changed a lot since 2025. Read the latest on the USCIS page before you plan around them.
Your clock
- You can be unemployed for at most 90 days on OPT, or 150 in total if you add STEM OPT.
- Use the clock on our home page to see roughly what’s left, and confirm with your DSO.
- Tell your DSO about a new employer or address within 10 days.
The question that trips people up
- “Will you now or in the future require sponsorship?” On OPT, the truthful answer is usually Yes, because you’ll need an H-1B later. Answering No to get past the filter can cost you the offer later.
- Answer truthfully, and spend your applications on employers who have sponsored before.
- Coming soon Set this answer once and Knock fills it the same way every time. AI never chooses it.
What Knock checks here
- Each job shows the employer’s new H-1B approvals from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub. 40,980 US employers had at least one new approval in FY2025–26.
- Postings that say they won’t sponsor are hidden.
- Before you accept STEM OPT work: check the employer on the official E-Verify employer search (link below).
Language reality
- English. Your edge is a specific, honest application. Recruiters say generic AI answers are the fastest way to the reject pile.
Scams to avoid
- Never pay for a job, an “OPT letter”, training that “guarantees” placement, an H-1B or a visa.
- A STEM OPT “employer” with no real office or no real work puts your status at risk.
- USCIS forms are free. USCIS never asks for money by phone, email, gift card or wire transfer.
- Report problems to your DSO.
Official links
Rules as checked on 16 October 2026. Not legal or immigration advice. Confirm with your DSO or an immigration attorney.
See which employers have sponsored before.
Free Chrome extension. No card. You’ll see every price before you sign up.