Unhich

I am a grad student holding F-1. I applied for OPT (Optional Practical
Training) last June, since I had a job offer that was supposed to start from
September. However, my employer contacted me again in mid-September (I had
not received my EAD yet) and said they would like me to start from January
2004, not September. My case status was still pending. I spoke with BCIS
customer service personnel and was told that it was not too late to request
for a change of the start date on EAD. I wrote to BCIS on September 15th.

But when I checked my case status on-line a week later, my application was
approved on September 22nd, and they are preparing the card. BCIS says it's
impossible for them to stop the process now. Instead they advised me to
return the card when I receive it and ask for a correction on the date.
Would that be possible? For me it is very important to use the entire 12
months. If my OPT starts now, I will only be able to work for 8 months. Is
there anything else I could try?

Thank you for your advice.

unhich