CAP GAP

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If your employer has applied for an H-1b and you wish to request a CAP GAP* I-20 please send an email to ipsupdates@siu.edu with the Subject line: “CAP GAP I-20 REQUEST” and include the following:

  1. A scan of your I-797C Notice of Action, or I-797A Notice of Approval,
  2. A completed OPT Update form available at the following link, or verification that all information is up-to-date in the SEVP Portal.

Once you have provided us with all of the above listed items we will check your SEVIS record. If the record has been updated with the CAP GAP, we will generate an updated I-20 and send it to you electronically via email.

Special circumstances:

Occasionally a student’s SEVIS record does not get updated with the CAP GAP information. In these instances we will contact you about your specific case and proceed accordingly.

If your OPT end date is before June 1st, the procedure may be different than what is described above. In these instances we will contact you about your specific case and proceed accordingly.

*What is CAP GAP?

Current immigration regulations allow certain students with pending or approved H-1b petitions to remain in F-1 status, and in most cases still eligible for employment, from the date after their OPT ends until the date the H-1b begins. This period of time is referred to as the “CAP GAP” period and is an extension of the OPT authorization.

Additional Information can be found on the USCIS website.