Once an international student on an F-1 visa graduates, he or she can apply for a work permit (Employment Authorization Document, or EAD) as part of OPT (Optional Practical Training).
As EADs are issued for many reasons, this type of EAD will have a Category Code of “C03C”.
Normally, OPT is valid for 1 year. However, STEM graduates can get one extension of two more years.
The following sample OPT EAD card is shown for STEM extension.
