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OPT doesn't last very long (18 months max I think). The standard path for students is F1->OPT->H1B->Green Card->Citizen.

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I suspect he never got an H1-B; his brother was in the US without a visa.

It's now three years for stem https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/

The STEM extension is a recent (2008) development, probably motivated by the fact that H1-Bs are now a lottery so students need multiple shots to have a chance at winning.

Back when Musk would've applied, that wasn't a problem, he would've gotten an H1-B pretty easily.

While you can go straight from OPT to green card, getting an H1-B first is much better since it's dual intent, so you're not prevented from traveling during the green card application (which you would be on OPT).

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