For graduating international students, the end of the semester is focused on determining their future status in the United States.

The months of December through February represent these students’ last chance at obtaining an Optional Practical Training form, known as OPT. Only through receiving one of these forms are students allowed to stay in the United States after they have completed their degree credits. The form allows them to stay though a job or co-op opportunity.

Jessica Fincham, international adviser with the International Students and Scholars Office, explained that the form allows students to work for 12 months after they finish their degree requirements.

“Twelve months is the post completion OPT. There are four forms of OPT: precompletion, postcompletion, cap gap and [science, technology, engineering and math] extension,” Fincham said. “Most of the students, if not all right now, are asking for post completion, when they are nearing their postcompletion OPT, and if they are a STEM major, that will allow them to gain an additional 17 months.”

The students Fincham is referring to are split into categories based on their education and timeline statuses in the United States.

F-status students remain at Iowa State throughout the entirety of their program whether it be a four-year bachelor’s degree of four years or, at with the largest amount of time, six years with a doctorate.

J-status students are part of an exchange program in which international students come to the country, earn a degree and then must return to their country of origin to share their gained knowledge.

There are also H-1B students who, after completing a bachelor’s degree or higher, may work in the country temporarily. Of the 4,000 international students on campus, F- and J-status students are most common.

Although usually stated incorrectly, a student’s status in the United States through international study is not the same as his or her visa that was used to gain access to the country.

“A visa is the sticker in a passport. Immigration status is a status [such as F-, J- or H-status] that they hold in the [United States], and they must maintain that status,” Fincham said. ”They may stay here legally with an expired visa, however their immigration must always be active. Once a student graduates they get a new status not a visa.”

Daniel Moraes, senior in chemical engineering and international student from Brazil, is currently in the process of obtaining his Optional Practical Training form and beginning his post-ISU career.

“A few weeks ago, I just accepted a job offer, so I’m going to start working for the company under my student visa … so I have 12 months to work for the company,” Moraes said. ”During that time, the company applies for my work visa, the H-1B. If I don’t get the visa, it means I’m going to have to go back home.”

Recently, the STEM extension program, which allows students with degrees in technology, science or math to stay in the United States for an additional 17 months, has been in danger of being cancelled. That would cut down a student’s stay after graduation from 29 months to 12. Created in March 2008 by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the program is very sought after and is handed out through a large lottery system.

“It’s a big issue stress-wise, and, with many students, it’s a very popular topic right now,” Fincham said.

Talk of shortening or all together canceling the STEM program, as well as the fear of not being chosen out of the lottery, are pressures that are all too real for students like Moraes.

“When I first came, I just wanted to study and wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to Brazil to work there,” Moraes said. ”During my time here, I started dating someone, and we’ve been dating for about five years and think that family-wise it would be best for us to stay here.”

From that point, finding a job was imperative for Moraes as it was the only way for him to stay in the United States and start a life with a family.

“It’s stressful on her as well,” Moraes said. “If I don’t find a work visa, I’m going to have to go back home and be on a long-distance relationship for awhile.”

Ardhendu Tripathy, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering as well as a senator for the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, sees clarity as issue for students when attempting to apply for the Optional Practical Training form.

“An essential thing about the work permit is that it’s not clear. Recently, there are conflicting reports as to whether the extension was just a stop gap, and there are proposals to bring it back,” Tripathy said. “In a sense, it is a conflicted area because the people who give out the visas they themselves are confused about what to do with them. You cannot expect people who have not experienced such a process to have complete knowledge about what they are expected to do by themselves.”

The first step in applying for the form begins with the application. The application window opens 90 days before a student’s program ends and closes 60 days after a student’s program ends. Most students will choose Dec. 18 as their start date because that is the last day of the fall 2015 semester, and Feb. 16 as the last day to apply. This application must be received by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services so they may stay in the country legally while their request is being processed.

“Advisers will then recommend OPT, and it [is] printed on their I-20. [Students] then must submit various documents to our office, which is then mailed to [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services],” Fincham said. ”This takes 90 days to process. They then get an [employment authorization document], which they must have in hand before they start work.”

But having these forms may not be enough to stay in the states once the 12-month program has begun.

“If a student is unemployed for 90 days [after the OPT start date], works less than 20 hours a week or is in a job that does not connect with their major, they will be in violation of their OPT and will have to leave the states,” Fincham said.

Because of strict guidelines regarding job placement and a relatively short window of unemployment allowed before a student’s status is revoked, competition among those applying for positions is common and stressful. Moraes sees the competitive nature of the lottery as a motivation to finish his school work and apply for jobs.

“For an employer to like you, you have to be one of the best. There are a lot limitations due to the lottery,” Moraes said. ”Because if in the future I decide I want to work somewhere, I really have to be one of the best candidates.”

Once students have been employed, companies must sponsor them in order for the government to grant them a work visa.

“Why would someone want to take the risk of hiring someone that may not be able to stay in the [United States]?” Moraes said. ”So I get involved on campus and do everything I can to stand out. If they have an American citizen and an international student who are very similar candidates, why would they take that risk? I try to be my best. So when they compare me with others they want to hire me, even if there’s a small chance I won’t stay.”

Even qualified students who have completed their degrees can run into issues when attempting to be hired by companies given their level of education, which can lead to international students pursuing post-graduate degrees in an attempt to get a leg up on the competition.

“I have personally known friends who have graduated from [Iowa State], and I know it is a stressful time for them to find a job and gain OPT,” Tripathy said. “Most are people who have had master’s degrees or Ph.D.s, so I’m imagining for undergraduates it’d be even tougher. Usually, from what I’ve seen in my department and in my vicinity, the companies which hire international students only hire if they have an advanced degree.”

Ultimately, job security is the biggest concern for students who are a part of the international program. Students may receive multiple job offers in their hunt to stay in the country; however, it is meaningless if they cannot obtain their Optional Practical Training form.

“Some people have job offers in hand but cannot accept them until they get their OPTs back,” Tripathy said. “There have been scary situations where people have been teetering on the edge and think, ‘OK, if I’m unable to join by that time, I lose the job not because I can’t get a job but because I don’t have the OPT.’ I think it’s a normal thing for most international students to face in the [United States].”

For now, the International Students and Scholars Office will continue to help students throughout the upcoming months in preparing for applications, deadlines and various forms. Informational workshops are also available for those who are seeking extra help in eliminating any potential threats to staying inside the country, including Optional Practical Training application sessions designed for students to get the most out of their educational experience beyond Iowa State.