Current Graduate Student - New Passport and an Expirered F-1 Visa

daastudent

New Member
I had to get my new passport mailed to me from my country thus there is no record in my I-94 on the details on this existing passport. My F-1 visa is expired however I am still a Graduate student and is graduating on August 1st from my university. A company has submitted an H1B application on my behalf, if I do not get selected for this fiscal year’s H1B, I would hope to use OPT for a year so that I will be able to start my position on September 15th. The problem I am running into is that my DSO said I need to have a valid F-1 visa to apply for OPT. She seemed unsure and I haven’t seen anything online explicitly outlining this. I guess my question to you all, is this true? Even if I am in F-1 status as a student currently, if I would like to apply for OPT in the case that my H1B is rejected do I have to have an unexpired visa?
 
Top