To complete Form I-983, you and your employer fill out the STEM OPT training plan together, sign the certifications under penalty of perjury, and submit the finished form to your school’s designated school official (DSO) — not to USCIS. The DSO reviews the plan, recommends the extension in SEVIS, and issues an updated I-20 that you then use to file Form I-765 with USCIS. The form itself is a fillable PDF available from ICE’s website, and your DSO may also link to it through the international student office portal.
Confirm You and Your Employer Qualify
The form only works if the underlying eligibility is there, so verify these before you start typing.
Your degree must appear on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, which is organized by Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes. It must be a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)–certified school that is accredited and on the current list at the time you apply. You must still be in your initial 12-month post-completion OPT period or in a valid cap-gap extension when you file. Students who used a prior 24-month STEM extension based on an earlier degree may apply again if they earn a new qualifying STEM degree at a higher level.
Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing. There is no workaround. If the company hasn’t signed up, you cannot use them for STEM OPT no matter how well the position matches your field.
What to Gather Before You Open the Form
Collecting everything up front prevents the back-and-forth that eats into your filing window.
From you, the student:
- Full legal name exactly as it appears on your immigration documents.
- SEVIS ID number (starts with N; found on your I-20).
- CIP code for your qualifying STEM degree. Your DSO can confirm this, or you can look it up on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List.
- School code for the institution that issued the degree.
From your employer:
- Employer Identification Number (EIN), the company’s federal tax ID.
- E-Verify Company Identification Number, or a valid Client Company ID if the employer uses an employer agent.
- NAICS code identifying the company’s business sector.
- Primary business address, plus the specific training site address if different.
Filling Out the Six Sections
Form I-983 has six sections. Some are completed by the student alone, some by the employer alone, and the training plan narrative is written together.
Section 1: Student Information
Enter your personal details: name, email, SEVIS ID, and degree information including the CIP code.
Section 2: Student Certification
This is your signature under penalty of perjury. Read it carefully before signing. Among other things, you’re committing to notify your DSO about material changes to the training plan, including any change in the employer’s EIN, any pay cut not tied to reduced hours, any significant drop in weekly hours, and any drop below the 20-hour weekly minimum.
Section 3: Employer Information
The employer enters the company name, EIN, NAICS code, address, and the training site location. If you’ll train at a client site or satellite office rather than headquarters, that specific address goes here. A wrong EIN is one of the most common causes of processing delays because USCIS checks it against federal tax records.
Sections 4 and 6: Employer Certifications
These carry legally binding attestations signed under penalty of perjury. The employer official who signs must have actual signatory authority for the company. An immediate supervisor without that authority cannot sign.
By signing, the employer certifies that:
- The company has sufficient resources and staff to deliver the training described at the identified location.
- Your duties, hours, and pay are comparable to what similarly situated U.S. workers receive. If the employer has fewer than three comparable U.S. workers, the comparison extends to similar workers in the broader area of employment.
- You will not replace any full-time or part-time U.S. worker, whether temporary or permanent.
Section 6 is the evaluation section, completed later during the assessment periods. The employer confirms the training is proceeding as planned and updates any information that has changed.
Section 5: The Training Plan Narrative
This is the core of the form and the section DSOs scrutinize most closely. You and your employer complete it together. A properly written training plan explains four things clearly:
- Your role: what you will actually do and how it draws directly on knowledge from your STEM degree.
- Goals and objectives: specific skills, techniques, or knowledge you expect to gain during the 24 months. These should be measurable learning targets, not vague aspirations.
- Employer oversight: how your supervisor will monitor progress, provide feedback, and keep training on track. Name the methods — weekly check-ins, quarterly reviews, mentorship sessions — rather than describing them generically.
- Performance evaluation: the formal process for assessing whether you are meeting your training objectives, how often evaluations happen, and what criteria the employer uses.
Writing a Section 5 That Passes Review
The narrative fields are where most I-983s fall short. “Assist the engineering team with projects” will not satisfy your DSO or hold up in a DHS review. Describe the specific technologies, methodologies, or tools you will use and the competencies you will build.
Take a data science graduate at a financial firm. Instead of “work on models,” the plan should say the student will build predictive models using Python and machine learning frameworks, receive mentorship on model validation techniques, and be evaluated quarterly against defined accuracy benchmarks. The more concrete the plan, the smoother the approval.
After You Sign: DSO Review and the I-765
Submit the completed, signed I-983 to your DSO. The DSO reviews it to confirm the training plan meets regulatory standards, enters a recommendation for the STEM OPT extension into your SEVIS record, and issues a new I-20 endorsing the extension.
With that updated I-20 in hand, you file Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) with USCIS. You can file up to 90 days before your current OPT employment authorization expires, and you must file within 60 days of the date your DSO enters the recommendation in SEVIS. Include with the I-765:
- The filing fee: $410 online or $520 for paper filing.
- Your DSO-endorsed I-20, signed within the last 60 days.
- A copy of your STEM degree.
- Your employer’s name exactly as listed in E-Verify, and their E-Verify Company Identification Number.
File before your initial OPT expires. If USCIS receives your I-765 in time, you get an automatic 180-day extension of your employment authorization while the application is pending, so you can keep working during processing.
Obligations the Signed Form Creates
The I-983 isn’t a one-time filing. Signing commits you and your employer to reporting and evaluation duties for the full 24 months.
Two Self-Evaluations
You must submit two assessments to your DSO using the evaluation sections of the form. The first is due within 12 months of your STEM OPT start date. The second and final assessment covers the full training period and is due at the end of the 24-month extension. If you leave the position early for any reason, the final evaluation must be submitted within 10 days of the training opportunity ending. Skipping the final evaluation violates the terms of the I-983 and can jeopardize your status.
Reporting Material Changes
You and your employer must report material changes to the DSO at the earliest opportunity. Material changes include:
- A change in the employer’s EIN from a corporate restructuring, merger, or acquisition.
- A pay reduction not tied to a reduction in hours.
- A significant decrease in your weekly training hours.
- Any drop below the 20-hour-per-week minimum.
- Changes to the employer’s commitments or your learning objectives as documented on the I-983.
A material change usually means submitting a modified I-983 reflecting the new circumstances. Report any change, including loss of employment, within 10 days.
Six-Month SEVIS Validation
Separately from the evaluations and material change reporting, you must confirm your SEVIS information every six months. This validation covers your legal name, residential address, employer name and address, and current employment status.
Changing or Adding Employers
If you switch jobs during the 24-month extension, complete an entirely new I-983 with the new employer and submit it to your DSO within 10 days of starting. The new employer must be enrolled in E-Verify before you begin working for pay. Working for multiple employers at once is permitted, but each one needs its own I-983, must be enrolled in E-Verify, and must give you at least 20 hours per week. Volunteering and unpaid work do not count toward maintaining your status.