If you already understand how Optional Practical Training (OPT) works for international students in the US, that's the right mental model to start from for the UK's Graduate visa -- but the two systems differ in some real, specific ways worth knowing before you assume they're the same thing with different names. This is the "translate it to what you already know" companion to our broader UK Graduate visa vs. Ireland Stamp 1G comparison.
The baseline: OPT
Per USCIS's own guidance, F-1 students can receive up to 12 months of post-completion OPT, and STEM-degree graduates can extend that by an additional 24 months -- 36 months total -- if their employer is enrolled in and uses E-Verify. Getting OPT itself requires no employer sponsor: your school's international student office recommends it through SEVIS, you file Form I-765 with USCIS, and you can't start working until that's approved. OPT is also, legally, still tied to your F-1 student status -- it's an extension of your existing visa, not a switch to a new one.
How the UK Graduate visa actually differs
- It's a real, separate visa, not an extension of your student status. The Graduate visa is its own immigration category you switch onto from a Student visa -- a genuine status change, not a work authorization layered on top of the visa you already had.
- The duration isn't tied to your major. OPT's 36-month STEM ceiling requires a STEM-designated degree; the UK Graduate visa's length depends only on your degree level (bachelor's/master's vs. PhD) and, starting 2027, your application date -- covered in full in our piece on the UK's new 18-month rule. A UK history or English graduate gets the same length as a UK engineering graduate with the same degree level.
- No E-Verify-style employer requirement. OPT's STEM extension specifically requires your employer to be enrolled in E-Verify. The Graduate visa has no equivalent employer-participation requirement at any point -- your employer doesn't need to be registered with any particular system for you to work.
- A real, upfront cash cost. OPT's own USCIS filing fee is comparatively small. The UK Graduate visa carries a £937 application fee plus the Immigration Health Surcharge (typically £1,035 per year of the visa) -- a genuinely larger, visa-specific cost most US students don't budget for the way they would for OPT.
- The clock, in raw months, is close but not identical. Before 2027, the UK's 2-year (24-month) Graduate visa for bachelor's/master's graduates sits between plain OPT (12 months) and STEM-OPT (36 months). From 2027 onward, the UK's 18-month figure sits closer to plain OPT with a partial STEM-style extension, despite having nothing to do with your actual major.
What doesn't carry over
Don't assume US-specific OPT mechanics -- the cap-gap extension that bridges F-1 status while an H-1B petition is pending, the STEM-extension's specific employer-training-plan paperwork (Form I-983), or OPT's unemployment-day limits -- apply to the UK system. The Graduate visa runs on entirely different rules, discussed in what happens when your Graduate visa runs out: a separate, employer-sponsored Skilled Worker visa with its own salary threshold, not an H-1B-style petition process layered on your existing status.
What this means for you
- Don't assume "Graduate visa" means "UK OPT" mechanically -- it's a genuine, separate visa, not an extension of your Student visa the way OPT extends F-1 status.
- Your major doesn't change your Graduate visa length -- unlike OPT's STEM/non-STEM split, the UK only cares about your degree level and, from 2027, your application date.
- Budget the real cost -- the £937-plus-£1,035/year figure is a genuine expense with no direct OPT equivalent at that scale.
- Plan your next step separately -- OPT's path toward an H-1B and the UK Graduate visa's path toward a Skilled Worker visa are structurally different processes; research each on its own terms rather than assuming the US playbook transfers.