Prastav, 1) That's what we were discussing in previous postings as to whether you can still use 16 months in total or only 14 months. I know that until the end of 2005, you could use 60 days both before and after OPT. Now in your case if you can use 16 months, your grace period will expire around August 8-10. If you can use only 14 months, your grace period will end around July 17-19. So even in the wost case, it's just a matter of around 20 days more which I think won't be a problem for you if you are willing to go to Nepal. You can spend few more days back home. 2) Yeah it's not your visa stamp that determines your status, it's your I-94 card. You are in status only until the date mentioned in your I-94 card, which should say "Until F1" which means you are out of status as soon as your grace period ends even if your visa stamp has not yet expired. Getting H1 stamp should not be as difficult as getting an F1 visa especially when you have an American degree. People get H1 stamps all the time from Canada and Mexico so from Nepal, it should be even more easy as they prefer people applying in their home country.