based on your university you have an option of graduating 3 times in any given year May August/Sept Dec this would be perfect if you plan it right.: apply for job around APRIL. get a job by MAY/JUNE. start your work on CPT for next @ least 3(to graduate in AUG/SEP) or 6 months(GRAD in DEC). apply for OPT around 90 days before your CPT expiration date. you will have OPT for next year. apply for H1-B effective from OCT next year. Yes if you grad in SEP. make sure you take that month of time vacation (O: . you get 2 weeks/year vacation. so use it. then you can start in H1-B next year. if you grad in DEC. you will be losing 3 months of [ FICA tax i.e. 7.65% of your salary] not a big deal.. graduating in Sept will give you perfect scenario based on OPT utilization and application of H1-B ===================================================== as always what do i know (O: