Reporting Requirements

While on STEM Extension OPT, you continue to have requirements to report information to ISSS. Your STEM reporting obligations begin the day after your regular post-completion OPT expires, even if your STEM application is still pending with USCIS.

ALL CHANGES SHOULD BE REPORTED VIA THE ISSS PORTAL.

You should use the SEVP Portal to review your current information for accuracy.

If you have been locked out of your SEVP Portal account, click the "Reset Password" link on the SEVP Portal Login page. The SEVP Portal will send you an email with a temporary password, so you can log in and create a new password. If you already attempted to reset your password and are still unable to log in to the SEVP Portal, please submit an SEVP Portal Account Reset request .

Event-based Reporting

Personal Contact Information

You should report any updates to your personal address or U.S. phone number in your SEVP Portal within ten days of the change. Alert ISSS of these updates by submitting an SEVP Portal Update request in your ISSS Portal.

If, after ten business days, you do not see the change reflected in your ISSS Portal, please submit a Post-Completion Student Help Ticket.

Changing your Email Address

You should report a change to your email address by following these steps:

Step 1

Submit Post-Completion Student Help Ticket with your new email address.

Step 2

ISSS will update your email address in the ISSS Portal and you will receive an automatic email with temporary login credentials.

Step 3

Click on the link in the email to login to the ISSS Portal. Your new username for the ISSS Portal will be your updated email address and you will create your own password.

Step 4

ISSS will update your email address in SEVIS and you will receive an automatic email from SEVP with temporary login credentials.

Step 5

Unemployment

If you stop working for your STEM employer, you should report this via the ISSS Portal by submitting a OPT/STEM Employer Update Request and following the instructions shown.

You must have page 5 of your Form I-983 with the "Final Evaluation on Student Progress" completed and signed by your previous employer. This must be done within 10 days of the day you ended your employment.

If you are an employer wishing to report an F-1 student who has been terminated or left their employment, please email InternationalStudents@IllinoisState.edu.

Changing Employers/Adding a New Employer

If you change employers/add a new employer during STEM Extension, you should report this by following these steps:

STEP 1: Submit a Form I-983 Review Request in the ISSS Portal for your new employer. This document should NOT BE SIGNED until your request is approved. To reduce the time needed to process your request, ISSS highly recommends you refer to the I-983 Sample for guidance on how to correctly complete all fields.

STEP 2: Once your Form I-983 Review Request is approved by ISSS, both you and your employer must sign and date the document. Please refer to the I-983 Sample (very bottom of page) for examples of acceptable signatures.

STEP 3: Submit an OPT/STEM Employer Update Request in the ISSS Portal. This action constitutes you officially reporting the change in employers to ISSS. You will upload your new signed I-983 to this request. If you are reporting that you are changing employers, you will also need to upload the Final Evaluation (bottom of page 5 of the Form I-983) for your previous employer to this request.

STEP 4: Once ISSS has processed your request, you will recieve a new I-20 document showing your updated employment information.

Deleting an Employer

If there is an employer showing on your SEVP Portal account that you believe needs to be deleted, contact ISSS. Remember, the only reason to request that an employer be deleted is if you never worked for that employer.

Material Changes to Form I-983

If there are material changes to the terms and conditions of the Form I-983 on file with ISSS for your current employer, then you or your employer must update ISSS at the earliest available opportunity. Please discuss any changes to your training plan with your employer to determine whether they constitute a "material change".

Some examples of material changes include (but are not limited to):

Change in employer's name and/or EIN
Change in employer's address and/or your work site address
Reduction in your compensation that is not tied to a reduction in hours
Reduction in your hours per week
Changes to your learning objectives

For more information on what constitutes a "material change", please see the Form I-983 Overview on the Study in the States website. You and your employer can also utilize the STEM OPT Hub to help you determine if there has been a material change.

You should report material changes by following these steps:

STEP 1: Submit a Form I-983 Review Request in the ISSS Portal for the updated I-983 showing the material changes. This document should NOT BE SIGNED until your request is approved. To reduce the time needed to process your request, ISSS highly recommends you refer to the I-983 Sample for guidance on how to correctly complete all fields.

STEP 3: Submit an OPT/STEM Employer Update Request in the ISSS Portal. This action constitutes you officially reporting the change to ISSS.

STEP 4: Once ISSS has processed your request, you will recieve an email confirmation. If the changes you reported result in changes to what is printed on your I-20 document, then a new I-20 showing your updated information will be provided.

If you are an employer wishing to report a material change to Form I-983, please email InternationalStudents@IllinoisState.edu.

Non-Material Changes

If there are changes to the terms and conditions of your STEM employment that you and your employer determine are not material changes, then you still must report these changes to ISSS. However, you do not need to submit an updated I-983.

To report these changes:

Step 1

Update your SEVP Portal with the new information if you have access to do so.

Please note that on STEM Extension OPT, you can only edit the following employer information in your SEVP Portal directly:
- Job Title
- Supervisor Name, Telephone Number, and Email Address
- Relation to Field of Study Description
  - If you choose to add more details about how your employment relates to your STEM degree, DO NOT DELETE the verbiage that ISSS previously entered in that field.

Step 2

Submit an SEVP Portal Update Request in your ISSS Portal

6-Month Periodic Reporting

You must report to ISSS every 6 months while on STEM Extension. There is a very useful Planning Tool for 24-Month STEM Extension located on the Study in the States website, which can auto-calculate the dates for your periodic reporting. Simply enter your OPT end date in cell D19 and then scroll down to the bottom of the excel to see your reporting dates:

6-Month Validation Report

Individuals on STEM Extension OPT must report to ISSS every six months, even if there is no change in information to report. The six months begin counting at the start date of your STEM EAD card and continue every six months following that date.

To submit your 6-Month Validation Report, please submit a Report STEM Participation request in the ISSS Portal.

ISSS recommends you submit your 6-Month Validation Report no earlier than 30 days prior to your 6-month mark (6 months from your EAD card start date). You must submit your 6-Month Validation no later than 10 days following your 6-month mark.

Remember: You have met your reporting deadline based upon the date that you submit your Report STEM Participation request . ISSS has an additional 21 days after that date to update your SEVIS record.

12-Month Evaluation on Progress

You must complete a self-evaluation and submit it to ISSS within 12 months of your STEM Extension start date.

To submit your 12-Month Evaluation, please submit a Report STEM Participation request in the ISSS Portal. You must upload page 5 only of your Form I-983 to the request with the Evaluation on Student Progress completed and signed by both you and your current employer.

Please review the I-983 Sample for Illinois State University Students to help you properly complete your 12-Month Evaluation.

ISSS recommends you submit your 12-Month Evaluation no earlier than 30 days prior to your 12-month mark (12 months from your EAD card start date). You must submit your 12-Month Evaluation no later than 10 days following your 12-month mark.

18-Month Validation Report

To submit your 18-Month Validation Report, please submit a Report STEM Participation request in the ISSS Portal.

ISSS recommends you submit your 18-Month Validation Report no earlier than 30 days prior to your 18-month mark (18 months from your EAD card start date). You must submit your Final Evaluation no later than 10 days following your 18-month mark.

Final Evaluation on Progress

You must complete a final self-evaluation at the end of any job you have while on STEM Extension and submit it to ISSS within 10 days.

For example, if you change employers while on STEM, you must submit a Final Evaluation when you stop working for your first employer AND another Final Evaluation at the end of your 24-month STEM period.

To submit your Final Evaluation, you must submit a Report STEM Participation request in the ISSS Portal. You must upload page 5 only of your Form I-983 to the request with the Final Evaluation on Student Progress completed and signed by both you and your employer.

Please review the I-983 Sample for Illinois State University Students to help you properly complete your Final Evaluation.

ISSS recommends that you submit your Final Evaluation no earlier than 30 days prior to your 24-month mark (your EAD card end date). You must submit your Final Evaluation no later than 10 days following your 24-month mark. If you are submitting the Final Evaluation because you have stopped working for your employer or changed employers, you must submit it within 10 days of the end date of your employment.

Other Status Changes

Change of Status to H-1B

If your employer has filed for your change of status to H-1B, submit a Change of Status Receipt Notice Upload in your ISSS Portal to upload a copy of your receipt notice. ISSS will verify that the change of status is showing on your SEVIS record, if applicable.

Depending on the timing of your Change of Status application (and other factors), you may be eligible for "Cap Gap" Extension of your STEM OPT.
Remember that you must continue to maintain your F-1 status up until your new status begins.

Once you are approved for your change of status to H-1B:

Submit a Change of Status Approval Notice Upload in your ISSS Portal to upload a copy of your approval notice.
Submit an OPT/STEM Employer Update Request in your ISSS Portal to report the end of your STEM training and upload your final evaluation with your current employer. The end date of your final evaluation period listed on Form I-983 should either be the expiration date of your STEM EAD card or the day before the start of your new status (whichever is earlier).

Other Status Adjustments

Update ISSS if any major change related to your visa status occurs, such as the following:

You plan to depart the U.S. prior to your STEM Extension end date, with no plans to return and resume your STEM Extension OPT employment.
- Submit an OPT/STEM Employer Update Request in your ISSS Portal to report the end of your STEM employment AND
- Submit a Program Completion Request in your ISSS Portal to report your departure from the U.S.
You plan to transfer to another U.S. institution - Submit a Transfer Out Request in your ISSS Portal.
You plan to begin a new program of study at ISU - Submit a Change of Level Request in your ISSS Portal.
You have applied or been approved for a change of status (other than H-1B).
- If you have applied for your change of status through USCIS:
  - Submit a Change of Status Receipt Notice Upload in your ISSS Portal to upload a copy of your receipt notice.
  - Once you are approved for your change of status, submit a Change of Status Approval Notice Upload in your ISSS Portal to upload a copy of your approval notice.
- If you changed your status by obtaining a visa at a U.S. consulate abroad and entering the U.S.:
  - Upload proof of your new status to the immigration document upload fields (Passport, Visa, I-94) in the Personal & Program tab of your ISSS Portal,
  - Submit a Post-Completion Student Help Ticket to notify ISSS of the change.
- Submit an OPT/STEM Employer Update Request to report the end of your STEM employment.
- Remember that you must continue to maintain your F-1 status up until your new status begins.