hey guys,

 Greetings!

well i'm currently in my opt and I am still unemployed after my 90 days grace period to find a job. Its almost a month passed after the 90 days. Is it any big problem? Well I am actively looking for employment , I've been looking for the past 3 months but the economic condition is unbelievable. They dont want to hire smb . whom they might have  to sponsor   for long term. What am I gonna do? The economy is so bad , arent they being unjust by throwing a 90 days probationary period?

I am in a dillema. Honestly. Any/every suggestion /experience would be very helpful and really appreciated.

Thanks

52 Views and not a single response.. what the hell ! words dont cost money.

good luck bro. did you update your IPO even stating a part time job or something? or have you not updated anything at all?

nothing at all

 How about Volunteering? 

actually no.. does voulntering count? that means even an unpaid internship would count?? but i have not informed them yet..

 volunteering works...actually u don't even have to be really doing it...if u know of a company, even a church, hospital....anything...all u gotta do is provide ur school's international advisor with with an address where ur assumed to be doing ur volunteer work...they don't come check or call...nothing...that's what i did and its all good right now...good luck

 ya they don't verify but they want somemething on their record.. make sure you call

 pull out a local hospital or church address and give it to ur intl advisor ASAP...u gotta inform them...

Hey thanks a lot guys.. I'm so relieved.. I thought USCIS would track by payroll or sth. I'll just inform them that i'm doing some volunteer work or an internship.

Thanks again !

Hey,

If you are in OPT, in order to extend your OPT, u need to work in a company which is e-verified.
So, i would suggest u to join any consulting company just to be safe side and keep lookin job in ur own as well.
In order to extend ur OPT, u dont need to show ur paycheque but make sure u show offer letter from e-verified company.
I guess, u might have to write a email to ur university that u r currently working in a e-verified company with address along the current position u r holding. u dont need offer letter frm the company but just to update the SEVIS, u need that.

So, its time to email ur uni just to let them know that u r currently employed.

hey thanks a lot ayus! but i am not extending my opt..actually its just been around 3 and half months since my opt started.. I'm a little over 90 days ..so just for the record do i still have to have a job offer or an internship in an everified company would count? Because i know a company who could help me saying that I did an unpaid internship..if that counts!

You can tell them you are self employed if that suits your major(like freelancing ).
But to extend it to 29 months ( or so ) , you must be working for e-verified company.

They do not go after payroll unless you want to extend your OPT so that should work. Talking about extension then they might require the payroll verified.

Do I have to find a job?
The Interim Final OPT Rule published on April 8, 2008 requires F-1 students to find a job within 90 days of the start of their OPT, and to report their employer’s name and address to their school within that time frame. Possible consequences to remaining in the U.S. after the 90-day deadline without a job include loss of visa status, denial of future immigration benefits, etc. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security further clarified how unemployment may affect your status. Starting in early 2009, the SEVIS record of any student who does not report employment within 90 days will automatically be terminated. The auto-termination will take place 6 months after the start of the OPT. Therefore, it is imperative that you not only find employment, but that you report it to your international student advisor IMMEDIATELY.
What if I find a job after the 90-day deadline, but before the 6-month termination date?
You should report your employment to your international student advisor immediately. As long as your SEVIS record is still active, you may continue working in the U.S. Possible consequences to missing the 90-day deadline include loss of visa status, denial of future immigration benefits, etc.

I am not being jackass but i think the economic condition has become better now and people are getting jobs. So, you cannot totally blame on the economy.

By the way, what kind of job are you looking for?

whatdahell,
you just pass your 90 days of OPT no big deal. If you are STEM major then you are eligible for OPT extension. you can stay doing nothing for a year but you should be able to say/show that you are actively looking for a job. if you want extension then join any consulting company with your subject of interest. it will be very easy if you are STEM major. Tons of consulting company are there to provide you any IT training and place you in job and make you workhard and make themselves big chunk of money and hand you peanuts. But you will get something which far better than getting nothing as you are still unemployed.

Action Plan.
1) decide what you want to do stay unemployed or employement.
2) choose technology of interest i.e programming,analyst,developing,administrator
3) contact your friend if there are working with any consulting company or find consulting company yourself
4)starting preparing hard
5) get job and work very hard dont complain about peanuts you are getting later you will get good amount after having experience.
6) the most important part, After gettting job update us with good news.

All da best. enjoy your job hunting. ;)

Is it OK to work as a general hourly-wage employee at Walgreens while on OPT. I've already updated my SEVIS record before the 90 day deadline. I submitted information about the firm in which I did an internship. The internship is over and  I'm going to grad school in August. Therefore, I am planning to work at Walgreens for 6 odd months. Will this be a problem???

Keep in mind that it is a simple thing but can be held against you and cost you your status, so report to your IPO immediately. Also, not only stems but other majors also can not stay more than 90 days without employment. So it is not true that if you're are a non STEM major then you get to stay 1 year without reporting. you have to report . good thing is they don't keep checking on you if you're working or not, but that does not mean you can get away not reporting your employment. please report asap.

to read more please go to : http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=ff791c491861a110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=75bce2e261405110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD



Limits on Periods of Unemployment
What are the limits on periods of unemployment?

• Students on post-completion OPT may have up to 90 days of unemployment.
• Students who have OPT extended due to the cap gap provisions continue to be subject to the 90-day limitation on unemployment.
• Students who receive a 17-month STEM OPT extension are given an additional 30 days of unemployment for a total of 120 days over their entire post-completion OPT period.

 

Do the limits on unemployment apply to any periods of unemployment prior to April 8, 2008?

• No, the limits on unemployment do not apply retroactively.

 

Do the limits apply to students who had post-completion OPT approved before April 8, 2008?

• For students who started post-completion OPT prior to April 8, 2008, unemployment time will accrue only for time spent unemployed after April 8, 2008. Time unemployed prior to April 8, 2008, will not be counted.

 

Is a student who splits OPT between two degrees at the same level limited to a total of 90 days of unemployment?

• No, the student is not limited to a total of 90 days of unemployment in this case. For each new period of post-completion OPT, the student will have the full 90-day period of unemployment.

 What counts as time unemployed?

• Each day during the period when OPT authorization begins and ends that the student does not have qualifying employment counts as a day of unemployment. The only exception is that periods of up to 10 days between the end of one job and the beginning of the next job will not be included in the calculation for time spent unemployed.

 

How does travel outside the United States impact the period of unemployment?

• If the student  whose approved period of OPT has started  travels outside of the United States while unemployed, the time spent outside the United States will count as unemployment  against the 90/120-day limits.
   
• If a student travels while employed (either during a period of leave authorized by an employer or as part of their employment), the time spent outside the United States will not count as unemployment.

 

thanks a lot  all u guys  for the updates ! sulab special thanks for the action plan! i will most definitely update this post with the good news. I 'm a biz major ..so does working in a phone store as a sales rep count?i'll tell them that coz thats wht am doin.. n it certainly is related to management as in customer service or personal selling... it needs art and talent to sell phones and plans :)i'll be late by 20 days  in updating them  but i wasnt aware  that the rules were so strict..

wish me best:)