I have a unusual case regarding being out-of-status and OPT work authorization.

I was a MBA student at Kansas. I graduated on 15th December 2007. I applied for OPT on 2nd October. I got the case number with the received notice two weeks after I applied for OPT. On October 23rd I became out-of-status. This happened after my application was received by USCIS. I went to Mexico and made a reentry with new I-20 and I-94 to come to status on 1st November 2007. Now I am in valied F1 Status.

My DSO told me that I will not be qualified for OPT as I became out-of-status. But luckily my application for OPT was processed and I got my EAD card a week ago. Mean while thinking that my OPT will not be approved, I applied for new admission in some new master program. My I-20 was released by the DSO before I got the EAD but I haven't signed it and collected it yet and I haven't registered for any classes.

Now there are certain questions on which I need serious help.

Is my EAD card valid despite the fact that I was out-of-status for a while (9 days) or is there a loop hole in USCIS system that mistakenly sent me the OPT (EAD) card?

Can I work with this EAD card and in future apply for H1B? Will there be any problem in H1B processing if I do that? I want to know the validity of this EAD card.

Please help me if anyone have gone through this situation before. It is pretty unlikely situation. Your information will help me decide what I can do in this situation.

Thank you.