A planning aid for international students changing US nonimmigrant status. Enter your dates,
get a backward-planned schedule, conflict flags, a document checklist, and a plain-English
CPT/OPT eligibility read-out. Nothing you type leaves your device.
1
Pick your path
2
Your dates
Leave anything blank that you do not know yet — the planner works with partial input and tells
you what is missing. Dates are stored only in this browser.
The end date on your I-94, or the date a dependent status ends (for example a child aging out). Check your I-94 at i94.cbp.dhs.gov.
You need the school's initial Form I-20 before you can file — the DSO should mark "change of status" as the issue reason.
Must be while your current status is still valid. USCIS suggests filing at least 45 days before your stay expires.
The 30-day employment rule and the DSO deferral checkpoint are both measured from this date.
Fill this in once you have the approval notice — it overrides the projection.
Used for the practical-training "one full academic year" clock. Your school's academic calendar defines the year — confirm the exact completion date with your DSO.
Optional but strongly recommended. If blank, the planner shows the gate as unconfirmed rather than inventing a date.
The date you would need work authorization in hand by.
School-specific, so the tool will not guess. Ask your international student office and enter their number.
Saved automatically to this browser only (localStorage). No server, no account, no analytics on your dates.
3
Your backward-planned timeline
Nothing computed yet
Fill in the dates above and press Build my plan.
4
CPT / OPT eligibility explainer
Practical training is what makes an internship legal. Four independent gates must all
be open on your start date — this panel shows each one separately so you can see which is
actually binding.
Fill in the dates above and press Build my plan.
The rules behind this panel, verbatim
The one-academic-year gate. "Practical training may be authorized to an F-1 student who has been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis, in an approved SEVP-certified college, university, conservatory, or seminary for one full academic year." Note the words lawfully enrolled — the regulation does not say "enrolled in F-1 status," and schools differ on whether full-time study in a prior status counts. This is the single most important question to put to your DSO in writing. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10) · ecfr.gov
CPT needs an endorsed I-20 first. "A student may begin curricular practical training only after receiving their Form I-20 or successor form with the DSO endorsement." The DSO — not USCIS — authorizes CPT. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i) · ecfr.gov
12 months of full-time CPT kills post-completion OPT. "Students who have received one year or more of full time curricular practical training are ineligible for post-completion academic training." Part-time CPT does not carry this penalty. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i) · ecfr.gov
OPT needs an EAD in hand. "The student may not begin optional practical training until the date indicated on his or her employment authorization document, Form I-766." Pre-completion OPT may be filed up to 90 days before you complete one full academic year, but employment may not start before that year is complete. Post-completion OPT may be filed up to 90 days before your program end date and no later than 60 days after it. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii), (f)(11) · ecfr.gov
You are capped at 12 months of practical training per education level. "A student may be authorized 12 months of practical training, and becomes eligible for another 12 months of practical training when they change to a higher educational level." 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10) · ecfr.gov
No work more than 30 days before your program starts. If USCIS approves a change of status more than 30 days before your program start date, "an example of a violation would be engaging in employment, including on-campus employment and practical training, more than 30 days before the program start date as listed on your Form I-20." uscis.gov · Changing to F or M student status
5
Document checklist
Tailored to the path you picked in step 1. Progress is saved in this browser.
0 of 0 complete
6
Export your plan
Both files are generated in your browser and downloaded directly — nothing is uploaded. The
Markdown file carries the full disclaimer and every source URL, so it is safe to hand to a DSO
or attorney as a starting point for questions.
7
Sources
Every rule encoded in this tool traces to one of these. All checked 29 July 2026.
Regulations and agency guidance change without notice — re-check before relying on any of it.
8 CFR 214.2(f) — F-1 student status, employment and practical training (eCFR)
One-academic-year practical-training prerequisite; 12-month practical training allowance per education level; CPT definition and DSO-endorsed I-20 requirement; the 12-months-full-time-CPT bar on post-completion OPT; OPT EAD requirement and filing windows; on-campus employment no earlier than 30 days before classes start.
8 CFR part 248 — Change of nonimmigrant classification (eCFR)
Change of status requires that you are maintaining status and that your status has not expired before filing; the narrow excuse for late filing; the bar on change of status for a J-1 subject to the INA 212(e) two-year foreign residence requirement without a waiver.
USCIS — Changing to a Nonimmigrant F or M Student Status(page last reviewed 25 Nov 2024)
Required steps before USCIS can approve (school acceptance, initial I-20 marked change of status, I-901 SEVIS fee, Form I-539); do not enroll or begin studies before approval if your current status does not permit study; contact your DSO if the case is not adjudicated at least 15 days before the program start date; approval is effective on the approval date; no "bridge the gap" filing required for F-1 if your status was unexpired at filing; no employment or practical training more than 30 days before the program start date; the consular / port-of-entry alternative, including that nationals of visa-exempt countries such as Canada may apply for admission directly at a port of entry or pre-clearance station.
USCIS — How do I request premium processing?
30 business days for Form I-539 applicants requesting a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1 or J-2 nonimmigrant status, once all prerequisites have been met. The current premium fee is published on that page and is not hardcoded here.
USCIS — Students and Employment(page last reviewed 20 Nov 2025)
"F-1 students may not work off-campus during the first academic year"; the three off-campus categories after the first academic year (CPT, OPT, STEM OPT); off-campus training must be related to your area of study and authorized before you start work.
ICE SEVP — I-901 SEVIS Fee
I-901 SEVIS fee: $350 for F or M applicants, $220 for J applicants (as published on that page, checked 29 July 2026). Pay at fmjfee.com.
8 CFR 214.6(j) — TD dependents of TN nonimmigrants (eCFR)
TD status is for the "spouse or unmarried minor children" of a TN nonimmigrant, admitted for the same period as the principal — which is why dependent status can end before the principal's does.
USCIS — Check case processing times
Processing times are variable by form, category and office, so this tool asks you to enter what you see there rather than encoding a number.
Deliberately not encoded, because no authoritative source defines it: the number of
months in "one full academic year" (your school's calendar controls it), typical I-539 processing
duration, current filing and premium-processing fee amounts, and whether full-time study in a
prior nonimmigrant status counts toward the practical-training year. Those are DSO and attorney
questions, and the tool asks you for them instead of asserting an answer.
It builds a backward-planned timeline for a US student change of status, explains CPT and OPT eligibility, and produces a document checklist you can export. It is a free, browser-only planning tool for international students, and it is not legal advice.
Is Visa Navigator legal advice?
No. It is an organizational planner that links to official sources. Immigration decisions should be confirmed with a Designated School Official (DSO) or a licensed immigration attorney.
When can an F-1 student use CPT?
Curricular Practical Training generally requires that a student has been enrolled full-time in F-1 status for one full academic year, and that the work is an integral part of the curriculum, authorized by the DSO before it starts. Twelve months or more of full-time CPT eliminates OPT eligibility.
Does it cost anything or store my data?
No. The planner is free with no signup, runs entirely client-side, and keeps everything in your own browser's storage. Nothing is uploaded.
