USA student visa work rights

At a glance

The permission, as published

First academic year: on-campus employment only. DHS: "If you participate in on-campus employment, you may not work more than 20 hours per week when school is in session." Active F-1 students may apply for on-campus work up to 30 days before classes start, with DSO approval, and must obtain a Social Security Number. USCIS: "F-1 students may not work off-campus during the first academic year, but may accept on-campus employment subject to certain conditions and restrictions." After the first full academic year, three off-campus routes open up: Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT) — up to 12 months, pre- or post-completion — and the 24-month STEM OPT extension for a qualifying bachelor's, master's or doctoral STEM degree. Off-campus work on severe-economic-hardship grounds needs a DSO recommendation, a new I-20, and an approved Form I-765 EAD from USCIS (you cannot start while it is pending). All off-campus work must relate to your field of study and be authorised BEFORE you start. Working without permission means your SEVIS record is terminated — you must leave the US immediately and may not be allowed back. F-2 spouses and children may NOT work.

Treat the hours as a hard limit

• The limit is on hours worked, not on income. Two jobs are counted together.
• Term time and vacation are usually different, and "vacation" means the institution's official dates rather than when your teaching stops.
• Self-employment and freelancing are restricted or prohibited on several student routes, and are easy to breach unknowingly.
• Your employer may not know the rules. The obligation is yours.

A breach is a visa matter. It can end the current visa, affect a later work route, and follow you into applications to other countries, which is a very large consequence for a few extra hours.

Budgeting around part-time work

Part-time earnings are a supplement, not a funding plan. Most routes set the financial requirement on the assumption you will not be earning, and the first months are the hardest: you arrive before you find work, and the costs arrive first.

1. Budget as though you earn nothing for the first three months.
2. Check the local minimum wage and what the permitted hours actually produce after tax.
3. Count travel and the time cost against study, which is what you are there for.