OPT vs CPT: what is the difference?
Updated October 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Before you read on: This compares the two programmes in general terms. It is not legal advice, and which applies to you depends on your programme and circumstances. Your designated school official (DSO) and a licensed immigration attorney are the people to rely on for your own case.
Both let F-1 students work in the United States, but they are not interchangeable. CPT is tied to your curriculum, authorised by your school, and generally used during study. OPT is broader authorisation in your field, requires a USCIS application and an EAD, and is usually used after you finish. The decision that matters most: twelve months or more of full-time CPT removes your OPT eligibility altogether.
Side by side
Who authorises it: CPT by your school's designated school official; OPT by USCIS, after a school recommendation.
What you need: CPT needs an updated I-20 and nothing from USCIS; OPT needs Form I-765 and an approved Employment Authorization Document in hand before you start.
How long it takes: CPT can be arranged in days; OPT takes months of processing, which is why it is filed well ahead.
When you use it: CPT during your programme, as part of your curriculum; OPT usually after completion, though pre-completion OPT exists.
Employer flexibility: CPT is locked to one employer, location and date range; OPT authorisation is not employer-specific, so you can change jobs within your field.
Duration: CPT has no fixed overall limit but is granted period by period; OPT gives 12 months, plus 24 more with a qualifying STEM degree.
The interaction that catches people
Twelve months or more of full-time CPT eliminates OPT eligibility. Not reduces it — eliminates it.
Part-time CPT has no effect on OPT, and neither does full-time CPT totalling less than twelve months. But a student who takes a full year of full-time CPT has given up the twelve months of OPT that usually serve as the bridge to an H-1B, and there is no way to recover it.
This is the single most important thing to understand before accepting a long full-time CPT placement, and it is frequently discovered too late.
Which one applies to you
Usually you do not choose. CPT is available only if the work is genuinely part of your curriculum and your school authorises it. OPT is available on the terms USCIS sets. Most students use CPT for a required internship during their programme and OPT after graduating.
Where there is a real choice — a full-time placement available on either basis — the question is whether the immediate work is worth more than preserving OPT. For a student intending to stay and work in the US afterwards, it rarely is.
What it means for employers
A candidate on CPT is authorised for your company, at a stated location, between stated dates. If any of that changes, their authorisation needs to change first.
A candidate on OPT is authorised for work in their field generally, so a job change does not need new authorisation — but their EAD has an expiry date, and if they are on a STEM extension, your company has to be enrolled in E-Verify and complete the I-983 training plan.
Either way, the expiry date belongs on the employee record with an alert ahead of it. Work authorisation lapsing unnoticed mid-assignment is the compliance failure that staffing firms actually suffer, rather than any dramatic one.
Common questions
Can I use both CPT and OPT?
Yes, provided your full-time CPT totals less than twelve months. At twelve months or more of full-time CPT, OPT eligibility is lost entirely. Part-time CPT does not count against it.
Which is better, CPT or OPT?
They serve different purposes and you usually do not get to choose. CPT is for work that is part of your curriculum during study; OPT is broader authorisation generally used after completion. Where a genuine choice exists, preserving OPT usually matters more.
Is CPT faster than OPT?
Considerably. CPT is authorised by your school and can be arranged in days. OPT requires a USCIS application and months of processing before you can begin work.
Can I switch employers on OPT but not CPT?
Broadly yes. OPT authorisation is not employer-specific, so you may change jobs within your field of study. CPT is granted for a specific employer and dates, and a change requires new authorisation.