Cap Gap Extension Drivers License: How to Renew and Verify Your Status

Basically, after their OPT period ends, their F1 status is tracked as cap-gap extension in the SEVIS system until Sept 30th. That cap gap status information is not fully reflected in the SAVE system that DMV uses to verify the status of the F1 student.

Cap Gap Extension Drivers License

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Most of the DMVs across the nation use USCIS online system SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements). In general, when someone goes to DMV and applies for driver license or renewal of an existing license, the DMV officers check the status of individual using USCIS SAVE System and if the system does not give the status verification they want, they will not issue the driving license, even if you show physical copies of Cap Gap I-20. This varies by state, but most of the states would not issue driving license, just based on the documents you show, they need to verify the status details in SAVE system.

Once your SAVE request is through, you need to visit DMV and collect your license. Depending on the DMV, your license maybe usually given until September 30th, you will need to again visit DMV on October 1st and get your Driving License renewed until the end of H1B ending date or in increments of one year depending on the policy of DMV.

I have graduated in Dec 2019 and my Texas driving license is valid till Feb 29, 2020. I have received my initial OPT EAD card which is valid till Feb 09, 2020. How can I renew my driving license? Any inputs are appreciated!

I stay in Florida. I need yiur guidence on how I get my DL extension after my I94 extn..My extn case is pending. I do not have received yet..i know i am elegible to stay legally upto 240 days if no decision on my case. What documents can help me to get my DL? KC

I have my both H1-B ApplicationLetter (Cap-Gap) and Approval letter.So can i directly renew my license for 1 year from October 1st instead of visiting them twice (One for the Cap-Gap Time & again for 1 year H1-B Approved time) ?What if i show both my letters asking them to process them together ?Or maybe directly ask them to process only the Approval Letter for the next 1 year ? If yes, then when will my Licence becomes valid ? From Oct 1st or including the Cap-Gap Period ?

My case is same as yours, when i went to renew my drivers licence with capgap I-20 they say that their system didn`t show my status. But I am in Texas, could you help me with procedure and links to get through this.

Note:A petition asking for consular processing is not eligible for a cap gap extension.Petitions submitted by cap-exempt employers are not eligible for the cap gap extension.Extension of F-1 Status and/or Work Authorization:If your OPT authorization is still valid when your employer submits your H-1B petition to USCIS, your OPT authorization is extended. You can continue working in F-1 status through the extension date.

If you are in your 60-day grace period (following either OPT completion or graduation without OPT) when your employer submits your H-1B petition to USCIS, your F-1 status is extended. You cannot work but you can remain in the U.S. through the extension date.

If you are enrolled in your final quarter (but not planning to apply for OPT) when your employer submits your H-1B petition to USCIS, your F-1 status is extended. You cannot work but you can remain in the U.S. through the extension date.

No. A student does not file a separate application for the extension or receive a new EAD to cover the additional time. The extension is automatically in effect when USCIS receives the H-1B petition. Students can request a new I-20 showing the cap-gap extension, but the updated Form I-20 is not required for a student to continue working.

No, the cap gap extension is only until September 30. If the H-1B petition is pending beyond October 1, you can remain in the U.S. based on the pending change of status petition. However, you must stop working until the H-1B petition is approved.

If your registration is selected in the lottery, this does not mean that you are eligible for the Cap Gap extension. Your sponsor should receive an I-797 notice of your selection, but they still need to file the H-1B petition in a timely manner in order for you to be eligible for the Cap Gap extension.

If you meet eligibility criteria 1-5 above, the cap gap extension of F-1 status and employment eligibility is automatic. Individuals with a receipted H-1B petition are eligible for an automatic extension of F-1 status and any authorized OPT until September 30. The H-1B petition receipt is not the same as the registration selection receipt.

Duration of F-1 status and work authorization may be extended for a student on OPT who is the beneficiary of a timely-filed, non-frivolous H-1B petition requesting a change of nonimmigrant status with an employment start date of October 1 of the following federal fiscal year (October thru September). The extension of duration of status and work authorization will automatically terminate upon the rejection, denial, or revocation of the H-1B petition filed on the student's behalf.

Students on cap-gap extensions are required to report to ISSS any change of name or address, or any interruption of such employment within 10 days. Such reporting should be done by submitting the OPT Reporting eform in iPenn.

After finishing a course of study, we may authorize an F-1 student up to 12 months of OPT. Please see the USCIS OPT for F-1 Students webpage for the types of OPT. Some F-1 students may be eligible for an extension of their OPT. (See F-1 STEM OPT Extension.)

To update Section 2 for a current employee eligible for a cap-gap extension once you receive Form I-797C, enter CAP-GAP and Sept. 30 and the year you filed the petition in the Additional Information field. For example, CAP-GAP 09/30/yyyy.

The extension is an automatic benefit that extends one's F-1 status and empioyment authorization until October 1 of the same calendar year. This presumes the student was in F-1 status and OPT was active at the time the H1-B petition was filed. Students in their grace period at the time of filing are not employment authorized.

ALERT: Although F-1 nonimmigrant students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) may apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT employment authorization, our policies regarding the cap-gap extension remain the same. An F-1 student who is the beneficiary of a cap-subject H-1B petition and request for change of status that is filed on time may have their F-1 status and any current employment authorization extended until the first day of the new fiscal year.

Please note: F-1 students who have entered the 60-day grace period are not authorized to work. If an H 1B cap-subject petition is properly filed for a student who has entered the 60-day grace period, the student will receive the automatic extension of his or her F-1 status, but will not be authorized to work since the student was not authorized to work at the time H-1B petition was filed.

F-1 students who do not qualify for a cap-gap extension and whose periods of authorized stay expire before Oct. 1 are required to leave the United States. They then need to apply for an H-1B visa at a consular post abroad, if applicable, and seek to be readmitted into the United States in H-1B status for the dates reflected on the approved H-1B petition.

The cap-gap extension of OPT is automatic for eligible students. A student does not file an application for the extension or receive a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to cover the additional time. The only proof of continued employment authorization currently available to an affected student is an updated Form I-20 showing an extension of OPT, issued to the student by their Designated School Official (DSO). This document serves as proof of continued employment authorization.

If an H-1B petition filed for an F-1 student with a cap-gap extension is denied, rejected, revoked, or withdrawn, the student will have the standard 60-day grace period (from the date of the notification of the denial, rejection, revocation, or withdrawal of the petition) to depart the United States.

The 60-day grace period does not apply to an F-1 student whose accompanying change of status request is denied due to a status violation, misrepresentation, or fraud. In such cases, the F-1 student is ineligible for cap-gap extension of status and the 60-day grace period. Similarly, the 60-day grace period and cap-gap extension of status does not apply to an F-1 student whose petition was revoked based on a finding of a status violation, fraud or misrepresentation discovered following approval. In both of these instances, students are required to immediately leave the United States.

F-1 students who receive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees included on the STEM Designated Degree Program List (PDF), are employed by employers enrolled in and maintain good standing with E-Verify, and who have received an initial grant of post-completion OPT employment authorization related to such a degree, may apply for a 24-month extension of such authorization. F-1 students may obtain additional information about STEM OPT extensions on our Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) page or the STEM OPT Hub.

However, students may not apply for a STEM OPT extension once the cap-gap extension period is terminated (if the H-1B petition is rejected, denied, revoked, or withdrawn) and the student has entered the 60-day grace period.

The H-1B cap-gap extension allows F-1 students currently on post-completion OPT to continue working if they have a timely-filed H-1B petition requesting change of status and an employment start date of October 1 (the first day of the following fiscal year). An automatic cap-gap extension of an F-1 student's duration of status also applies to the duration of status of the student's dependents in F-2 status. 2ff7e9595c