Working at a 3rd Party Client Site on STEM OPT
If you plan to be working at a 3rd Party Client Site on STEM OPT, please note that it may not meet
STEM OPT training requirements especially if your employer does not participate in the training (many
recruitment firms simply place you for employment purposes and may not be able to provide on-site
supervision nor evalu
ate your work because they are not specialists in your field but rather specialists in placement). Please read the following carefully before filling out the I-983 Training Plan with your
employer:
The Employer’s Training Obligation:
. . . to be eligible to employ a STEM OPT student, an employer must have and maintain a bona fide
employer-employee relationship with the student. The employer must attest to this fact by signing the
Form I-983, Training Plan for STEM OPT Students. To establish a bona fide relationship, the employer
may not be the student’s “employer” in name only, nor may the student work for the employer on a
“volunteer” basis. Moreover, the employer that signs the Form I-983 must be the same entity that
provides the practical training experience to the student.
An employer must have sufficient resources and trained or supervisory personnel available to provide
appropriate training in connection with the specified training opportunity at the location(s) where the
who may provide and supervise the training experience may be either employees of the employer, or
contractors who the employer has directly retained to provide services to the employer; they may
not, however, be employees or contractors of the employer’s clients or customers. Additionally, under
no circumstances would another F-1 student with OPT or a STEM OPT extension (who is undergoing
training in their own right) be qualified to train another F-1 student with a STEM OPT extension.
While employers may rely on their existing training programs or policies to satisfy the requirements
relating to performance evaluation and oversight and supervision, the student’s Training Plan must
nevertheless be customized for the individual student. For instance, every Training Plan must describe
the direct relationship between the STEM OPT opportunity and the student’s qualifying STEM degree, as
well as the relationship between the STEM OPT opportunity and the student’s goals and objectives for
work-based learning. Moreover, a STEM OPT employer may not assign, or otherwise delegate, its
training responsibilities to a non-employer third party (e.g., a client/customer of the employer,
employees of the client/customer, or contractors of the client/customer).
. . . DHS, at its discretion, may conduct a site visit of any STEM OPT employer to ensure that the
employer possesses and maintains the ability and resources to provide structured and guided work-
based learning experiences consistent with the Form I-983. See 8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(11). Consistent
with this provision, during a site visit, DHS may verify that the employer that signs the Form I-983 is the
same entity that provides the practical training experience to the student and ensure compliance.