U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that F-1 students who are applying for optional practical training (OPT) authorization can file the Form I-765, “Application for Employment Authorization,” online if filing under the following categories:

• Pre-Completion OPT;
• Post-Completion OPT; and
• 24-Month Extension of OPT for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students.

The option to file a Form I-765 online is only available to F-1 students filing Form I-765 for OPT. If a Form I-765 is submitted online to request employment authorization on or after April 15, but a student is eligible for a different employment authorization category, USCIS will deny the application and retain the fee. For additional details and information about filing a Form I-765 online, please reference the official release from USCIS.