USCIS is approving cases filed around
Regular initial OPT applications are approved roughly in filing-date order. If you filed after this date, you're still in line. Estimates come from thousands of community-reported timelines. STEM OPT and H-1B forecasts are coming next.
When will I get my EAD?
Enter your dates for a personal forecast. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you also ask for email updates.
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What the data shows
Built from 50,000+ comments in public OPT timeline threads on r/f1visa and r/USCIS, 2024–2026.
Which filing date is being approved
Each point: the filing date of regular cases approved that day.
How fast the line moves
Filing days cleared per calendar day. Below 1.0, waits keep growing.
Wait times last month
Days from filing to approval, regular cases.
Every year: slow summer, then a catch-up
Median wait by month of approval. In 2024 and 2025 waits collapsed in Sept–Oct. 2026 hasn't caught up yet.
How accurate is this?
We replayed summer 2026 week by week, giving the model only the data it would have had at the time, and asked: will this person be approved within 30 days?
When the model said "yes", it was right … of the time. Overall it was right … of the time. A standard machine-learning model did worse than guessing "yes" for everyone, so we use a queue model instead.
Forecasts get much more accurate as your date gets closer: about a week of error when you're a week from the front of the line, about three weeks when you're a month away. The biggest unknown is whether USCIS speeds up for a fall catch-up like 2024 and 2025.
Confusion matrix, calibrated queue model
… predictions, 30-day horizon
OPT news tracker
Rules, court rulings and processing changes that affect OPT, with sources.
FAQ
Does my biometrics date matter?
Barely. Among people filed the same day, biometrics weeks apart made almost no difference to approval date. Your filing date sets your place in line. Biometrics only matter if they're missing or need to be redone.
When does my 90-day unemployment clock start?
On the start date printed on your EAD, not your requested start date. If approval comes after your requested start date, your EAD start is usually the approval date. Days waiting for the card to arrive do count, and you can't work until the card is in your hands. Confirm details with your school's DSO.
Should I pay for premium processing?
Recent upgrades were approved a median of about a month after the request, with a legal deadline of 30 business days. Compare that to your regular forecast above. Late approval can also shorten your OPT, since post-completion OPT must end within 14 months of your program end date.
How do I upgrade to premium?
File Form I-907 online through your USCIS account (or by mail) and link it to your pending I-765 receipt number. Use your own name and address, exactly as on your I-765, even if an employer pays.
I moved since filing. What should I do?
Update your address in your USCIS account before your card is produced. EAD cards are often not forwarded by USPS, and a lost card means a replacement application.
Where does the data come from?
Self-reported timelines in public Reddit megathreads, parsed into dates only. We never collect usernames. Every number traces back to a public comment. People who post may differ from everyone who files, so treat this as a community estimate.