On May 3, 2017, USCIS announced that it had completed selecting the H-1B petitions for the lottery and that the rejected petitions would begin to be returned. During this period, for those cases where there has been no receipt or rejected petition, F-1 students may continue to obtain an automatic extension of their optional practical training (OPT) employment authorization documents (EAD) from the H-1B cap-gap extension until the rejected petition is received. Once received, the 60-day grace period kicks in from the date of the rejection notice or their program end date, whichever is later.
If an H-1B petition is selected, then the F-1’s EAD is only automatically extended through October 1, 2017, and not until the H-1B is approved. Therefore, if the F-1 student is eligible for a STEM OPT extension, he or she should apply for it.