Need some strategy

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hi,
so apparently my green card is gonna take FAR MORE than I expected(probably 6 years from now) to be approved…the reason is way too complicated to explain and something I can’t change.

Some of you know that I am planning to get into medical schools but now that I am expecting to get GC AFTER my undergrad, I need to tweak my plan. Clearly there are medical schools(both state and private) that accept foreign students but are incredibly competitive, may not give any FA or scholarship, or even require me to upfront 4 years of tuition(I think it’s called escrow? something I fear the most)

Since I am majoring in Chemical Engineering, I am planning to get a Co-Op. Then, I may apply for OPT after undergrad, then go for graduate school. I am sure I will be PR during my time in graduate.

Here are the questions

  1. Does the duration of Co-OP affect how long I can do OPT?
  2. Does OPT require another kind of visa?(I am F1)
  3. How long is CO-OP usually?
2

These are all good questions to discuss with the international student office at your school if you haven’t already.

In a nutshell:

  • CPT (most likely work authorization for co-ops) won't affect OPT eligibility at first. However, on your 365th day of CPT, you lose all of your remaining OPT time. Be sure to stay under a year.
  • OPT is tagged on to the F-1 visa and you continue to be in F-1 status during your OPT time. In fact, you have to be in F-1 status at your current degree level for one full school year before you qualify for OPT at all, so it's good that you already have an F-1 visa.
3

Thanks B@r!um. I will discuss these furthre with international office when I get back to school…

4

@B@r!um could you explain CPT for me? I already now about OPT and how to get it but I haven’t heard about CPT yet, thanks in advance.