How to Fill Out Form I-983: STEM OPT Training Plan, Section by Section

To fill out Form I-983, you and your employer complete four sections together — your identifying information, your certification, the employer’s information, and the employer’s certification — then build a detailed training plan in Section 5 that ties your job duties to your STEM degree. You sign under penalty of perjury, the employer’s signatory signs on the company’s behalf, and you hand the finished form to your Designated School Official (DSO). It never goes to USCIS. The DSO reviews it, recommends the STEM OPT extension in SEVIS, and issues an updated Form I-20 that you file with your Form I-765 for a new EAD.

Get the training plan right the first time. DSOs return forms that are vague, incomplete, or missing signatures, and each revision cycle eats into your 60-day filing window.

Confirm You and Your Employer Qualify Before You Start

Your degree must appear on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program list, identified by its Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code.¹ You must be in a valid period of post-completion OPT. If you’re basing the extension on a previously earned STEM degree rather than the one tied to your current OPT, that’s allowed, and Section 1 has a checkbox for it.

Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify in good standing and have a valid Employer Identification Number.² You need a real employer-employee relationship: staffing firms, temp agencies, volunteer roles, and independent contractor arrangements don’t qualify. If you work at a client site, the employer signing the I-983 must directly supervise your training and have the resources to do so.³ The position must be at least 20 hours per week per employer.

What to Have on Hand Before You Open the PDF

Download the current version of Form I-983 from the ICE website. It’s a fillable PDF, and you and the employer will pass it back and forth. Gather these before you start:

Your SEVIS ID number
Your DSO’s name, address, phone, and email
The SEVIS school code (including the three-digit suffix) for the school recommending your STEM OPT
Your qualifying degree’s major and CIP code, degree level, and date awarded
Your employer’s EIN, E-Verify company ID, and NAICS code⁴

Section 1: Your Information

Enter your full name exactly as it appears on your I-20. Even a small mismatch is grounds for your DSO to return the form. Fill in your email, the name of the school recommending STEM OPT (which may not be the school that awarded the degree), the SEVIS school code, and your DSO’s contact details. Then enter your SEVIS ID, the requested STEM OPT start and end dates, your qualifying major and CIP code, the degree level, and the date the degree was awarded.⁴

If your STEM OPT is based on a previously earned degree rather than the one supporting your current OPT, check “Yes” in the “Based on Prior Degree?” field. Leave it blank or checked “No” if the qualifying degree is the one you’re currently on OPT for.

Section 2: Your Certification

Read the declaration in full. You’re affirming under penalty of perjury that the information on the form is accurate and that you’ll comply with the training plan. Sign and date it.⁵ A missing signature here is one of the fastest ways to get the form kicked back.

Section 3: Employer Information

The employer fills in the company name, mailing address, website, EIN, number of full-time U.S. employees, NAICS code, and agreed weekly training hours (minimum 20). They also enter your employment start date and the address of the site where the training will actually take place, which may differ from the company mailing address.⁴ Double-check the EIN. A wrong number creates problems during compliance checks.

Section 4: Employer Certification

An official with signatory authority signs Section 4 on the company’s behalf. Missing this signature is among the most common reasons DSOs return the form. By signing, the employer is committing to specific obligations that DHS can verify through site visits:

The student will not replace any U.S. worker, full- or part-time, temporary or permanent.⁵
The student’s duties, hours, and pay are commensurate with those of similarly situated U.S. workers at the employer, or at other employers in the area if there aren’t enough comparable workers in-house.⁵
The employer will report to the DSO within five business days if the student’s employment ends or the student stops reporting to work.²
The employer has enough personnel and resources to deliver the training described in Section 5.³

Keep the wage comparison documentation the employer used to set your compensation. DHS can ask to see it.

Section 5: The Training Plan

Section 5 is where most rejections happen. The employer describes your role, explains how the work directly relates to your STEM degree, sets specific learning objectives for the 24-month period, and lays out how you’ll be supervised and how your progress will be evaluated.

Vague language is the biggest problem. “Software development tasks” tells the DSO nothing. Name the technologies, methodologies, or research areas you’ll work with and identify the skills you’ll build. The plan should read like a professional development roadmap, not a job posting. State how often your supervisor will meet with you and how your performance will be measured against the stated goals.⁶

Tie each learning objective to a degree competency. If your degree is in computer science and the role is data engineering, spell out which coursework or subfields the daily work draws on, what tools you’ll learn, and what you’ll be expected to produce or understand by month 12 and by month 24. Specificity is what separates plans that get approved from plans that come back with red ink.

Submit to Your DSO, Then File the I-765

Once every section is completed and signed, bring the form to your DSO. The DSO reviews it, confirms the training plan meets program requirements, recommends the extension in SEVIS, and issues an updated Form I-20 with the STEM OPT recommendation.⁷ The DSO keeps the I-983 in your student record; it does not go to USCIS.⁶

After you have the updated I-20, file Form I-765 with USCIS. The filing fee is $470. USCIS must receive the I-765 within 60 days of your DSO’s SEVIS recommendation and no later than your current post-completion OPT expiration date, whichever comes first. Miss the window and USCIS will deny the application, and you lose the fee.⁸ You can file up to 90 days before your current OPT expires.³

Give yourself runway. Aim to hand the completed I-983 to your DSO at least three to four weeks before you plan to file the I-765. Large university DSO offices handle hundreds of STEM OPT requests, and revision cycles take longer than you’d think.

After Approval: Keeping the Plan Current

The I-983 isn’t a one-and-done document. It has to keep matching reality throughout the 24-month extension, and two ongoing tasks are built into the form itself.

Material Changes

Submit a modified I-983 to your DSO if you switch employers, if your employer’s name or EIN changes, if your pay is cut without a corresponding reduction in hours, if your weekly hours drop significantly, or if the learning objectives or employer commitments change.⁹ Report at the earliest opportunity. A new employer means a brand-new I-983, signed by the new employer. Keep copies of every version.

Self-Evaluations

Page 5 is the self-evaluation. Complete the first assessment within 12 months of your STEM OPT start date, describing what you’ve learned and how it maps to the plan’s objectives. Complete the final assessment at the end of the 24-month period, or earlier if your employment ends before then. Both evaluations must be signed by your employer before you submit them to your DSO.⁹

Six-Month Validation

Every six months, confirm with your DSO that your SEVIS record reflects your current legal name, residential or mailing address, employer name and address, and employment status.⁹ This is separate from the annual self-evaluation. Your international student office usually sends reminders, but the obligation is yours.

1
Study in the States. Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)
2
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT)
4
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instructions for Completing Form I-983 Training Plan for STEM OPT Students
5
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Training Plan for STEM OPT Students
6
Study in the States. Form I-983 Overview
7
Study in the States. Students and the Form I-983
8
Study in the States. F-1 STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) Extension
9
Study in the States. Students – STEM OPT Reporting Requirements