Skip to content
International Services Office
Office for Global Engagement

Cap Gap Extension

Explore More

If an employer intends to sponsor you for the H-1B Temporary Worker status, you may be eligible for an automatic Cap Gap extension of your F-1 status and OPT/STEM work authorization.

The extension is intended to eliminate the gap in employment authorization and immigration status between when your F-1 OPT/STEM OPT ends and when the H-1B status starts, provided certain conditions are met.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Cap Gap extension of both your status and work authorization, the following must be true:

  • Your employer files the H-1B petition with USCIS while your OPT/STEM OPT authorization is active. Simply being selected in the lottery is not sufficient.
  • The H-1B petition is filed during the applicable H-1B filing period, which begins April 1.
  • Your employer requests a Change of Status from F-1 to H-1B in the H-1B petition. H-1B petitions filed under Consular Notification processing do not qualify.
  • Your employer is not a cap-exempt employer.

Request documentation

Once your circumstances meet all of the eligibility conditions, you may request documentation of the Cap Gap extension by submitting the Request Cap Gap Extension I-20 form in URcompass. Registration/selection in the lottery on its own is NOT sufficient evidence for a Cap Gap extension – the H-1B petition must be filed with USCIS before the extension can be applied.

You will be required to provide evidence of the H-1B filing in your request: Either the H-1B Receipt Notice or the H-1B Approval Notice. Page 2 of the I-20 will reflect the Cap Gap extension of your work authorization to September 30. All F-1 regulations, including reporting requirements, remain in effect during the extension period.

USCIS will not issue a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD card) or other documentation to show that your OPT/STEM OPT period has been extended. Instead, students may only obtain an updated I-20 showing that the OPT/STEM OPT work authorization end date has been extended.

Eligible extension period

The length of a Cap Gap extension will vary, depending on the amount of time between when your F-1 OPT/STEM OPT authorization ends and when your H-1B is approved to start. The cap gap will start from your OPT/STEM OPT EAD end date and it will end on April 1 of the fiscal year for which the H-1B status is being requested or until the validity start date of the approved petition, whichever is earlier.

The cap gap extension of status will automatically terminate if the H-1B petition is denied, withdrawn, revoked, rejected, or is not selected, or if the change of status request is denied or withdrawn even if the H-1B petition is approved for consular processing.

The Cap Gap extension is granted only for the active permissions that were authorized on the day the Change of Status H-1B petition is properly filed. If your OPT/STEM OPT has already expired when the H-1B application is filed with USCIS, only your permission to stay in the United States during your F-1 grace period will be extended.

Keep in mind that any changes to your H-1B application will determine the valid extension date, regardless of what the I-20 shows. F-1 students will need to communicate regularly with their employer to make sure they are aware of the status of their H-1B petition.

Related resources