The regulation
During post-completion OPT, F-1 status is dependent upon employment. Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(E), a student may not accrue an aggregate of more than 90 days of unemployment during post-completion OPT. A student with a 24-month STEM OPT extension may not accrue more than 150 days during the total OPT period.
The limit is "more than" 90 or 150, so the 90th or 150th day without employment is still within the limit and the next one is not. The tracker shows this as the last day you can be without work.
What SEVP can do
According to the SEVIS Help Hub, SEVP officials can manually terminate the SEVIS record of a student who accrues more days of unemployment than the regulations allow. DSOs have a student list in SEVIS of students terminated for exceeding the maximum number of days of unemployment, and an alert list that shows the days used and remaining for each student on OPT.
Study in the States also notes that a record without employer information can lead to a student being viewed as having failed to obtain employment and potentially out of status.
Keeping the record accurate
- Report a new job, a job change or the end of a job within 10 days (reporting requirements).
- Check the Unemployment Counter with your DSO after each change, and compare it with the tracker on the home page.
- If dates in the record are wrong, ask the DSO to request a correction of the employment start or end date.
- If a job search is going to run long, count the days left before it starts and plan around the last allowed day.
Updated: November 4, 2026