When Should I apply for OPT?

Hello,

My OPT is ending on August 15. My H1B has been picked and today I got an rfe for that. I talked with my university and they have issued me a cap gap extension I20. Now I don’t know the reason for RFE yet. My questions are:

  1. Should I apply for premium processing once my employer responds for RFE to get an result sooner?

  2. When can i apply for OPT extension to be on the safe side?

Thank you!

You can do either:

  1. Upgrade to PP so that you know the result in time and then apply for OPT extension if required.

  2. Not upgrade to PP but still file OPT extension. If H-1 gets approved w/ COS, then your OPT extension becomes moot; else it would come in handy.

You should take one of these options to cover following scenarios:

  1. Your H-1 petition gets denied, which makes cap-gap inapplicable

  2. Your H-1 petition doesn’t get processed by Oct 1, which makes cap-gap inapplicable after Oct 1.