Can I still apply for OPT 45 days after graduation?

Short answer: yes. The post-completion OPT filing window doesn't close on graduation day — it closes 60 days after your program end date. Being 45 days out means you're late in the window, not out of it. But three separate deadlines interact here, and students routinely lose weeks of work authorization by mixing them up.

The three deadlines that actually govern your filing

1. The filing window. USCIS must receive your Form I-765 no earlier than 90 days before, and no later than 60 days after, your program end date — the end date on your I-20, not your ceremony date. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(B)(2)
2. The 30-day SEVIS rule. Separately, USCIS must receive the I-765 within 30 days of the date your DSO enters the OPT recommendation into SEVIS. A recommendation that sits while you gather documents can expire your filing eligibility even inside the 60-day window. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(A)
3. The requested start date. Your requested OPT start date must fall within the 60 days after your program end date. You choose it on the I-765; you cannot push it later to wait out slow processing.

"USCIS won't approve before my requested start date — should I still request one within 60 days?"

Yes — you have no other legal option, and it works out the way you'd hope: if USCIS approves after your requested start date, your employment authorization simply begins on the approval date, and the EAD card reflects that. You don't lose eligibility because processing was slow.

What you can lose is time. Standard post-completion OPT must fit within the 14-month period following your program completion, so every week of processing past your requested start date is potentially a week of OPT you never get to use. That's an argument for filing at the early edge of the window when you can — and for filing today when you can't.

What you cannot do

• Work while the application is pending. Post-completion OPT requires the approved EAD in hand and its start date reached.
• File after day 60 — even one day late, USCIS will deny. At that point the realistic paths are a new program of study or departure; talk to your DSO before doing anything.
• Let the SEVIS recommendation age past 30 days. If it happens, your DSO can generally refresh the recommendation — but that costs days you may not have.

A note on "graduation" vs. your program end date

The clock runs from the program end date your DSO records in SEVIS — usually the last day of your final term. If you finished coursework in December but the degree confers in May, or you're delaying the diploma for administrative reasons, the SEVIS end date is what counts. When those dates don't line up, that's a conversation with your DSO before you file, because the answer changes the whole calendar.