Hello!
The OPT visa is a working visa intended to give college graduates working experience. For most people, the visa gives a year of "practical training." However, if you have a STEM major, then you can apply for an extension, which gives you 17 months in the U.S.
You do not have to have a job offer when you apply for the OPT! You can apply via unemployed, however, once your OPT is in effect, you have 90 days to find a job. Notice, date of the visa going into effect and the date you receive your OPT card does not necessarily match.
Don't be like me; apply for your OPT ahead of time! I lost time (I can only work for 10 months instead of 12) because of this. You can apply for an OPT 90 days before you graduate (and 60 days after), but you can pick the date you want your OPT to start (up to 60 days after your graduation date). I was being stupid, and thought I could push the start date back if I applied later (after I graduated), but that only cut time off my already existing working time frame. OPT's take 3 months to process and get mailed to you. Meaning, I got the card (which employers require before you can start work) after my OPT period started. So basically I was not able to work when the time on my OPT was running. So, apply for it early!
Good resource: http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/f-1-opt-optional-practical-training/understanding-f-1-opt-requirements
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