Since 2008 an F-1 student who has a pending H-1B application at the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to change status from a student to a professionally skilled worker will be able to automatically extend his/her lawful status until October 1 of the fiscal year for which H-1B status is being requested.  The same is true for students who have been granted optional practical training (OPT) and may continue to remain in the United States and work should their OPT expire before October 1.  Those students who have not been granted OPT will have lawful status to remain in the United States but will not be able to work until their H-1B application has been approved.

For this rule to apply the H-1B application must have been properly filed with USCIS, which means the change of status application was filed during the H-1B acceptance period, while the student’s authorized duration of status (D/S) admission was still in effect (including any period of time during the academic course of study, any authorized periods of post-completion OPT, and the 60-day departure preparation period, commonly known as the “grace period”).  An application is generally considered “filed” once it is accepted by USCIS. In the context of the H-1B lottery, the petition may have been submitted on April 1, but it will not be accepted for processing until after the H-1B lottery has been conducted some weeks later. If the H-1B petition is rejected, denied, or revoked, the automatic extension of status and work authorization will immediately terminate.