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Eastern Illinois University

Career Services

My F1 Status

The U.S. job market is extremely competitive with thousands of students graduating annually and looking to start a new career related to their Bachelors, Masters or MBA degree. As an international student, you not only have to find a suitable position but also an employer who will spend the extra time and money sponsoring your visa.

To realistically compete with the U.S. citizens, you need to prove that you have skill sets they don’t have. Companies need to be clear on the extra value you add over and above the value a U.S. citizen can add for them to even contemplate the visa process.

 

F1 Status

How do I maintain a valid F1 status?

The following list will help you to ensure you maintain a valid F-1 status:

What does my F1 status mean?

F-1 nonimmigrants, as defined in section 101(a)(15)(F) of the Act, are foreign students pursuing a full course of study in a college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, private elementary school, other academic institution, or language training program in the United States that has been approved by the Service to enroll foreign students. For the purposes of this rule, the term "school" refers to all of these types of Service-approved institutions. An F-2 nonimmigrant is a foreign national who is the spouse or qualifying child (under the age of 21) of an F-1 nonimmigrant.

Source: USCIS website http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

 

Working on your F1 Visa 

Getting Work Experience in the US

Companies look for more than your degree and grades when they are looking to hiring new people to join their workforces.  They are just as interested in the work experience and/or extra-curricular activities you undertook during your studies as such endeavors allow you to develop important work-related skills such as:

These transferable skills, among others, stay with you from job to job, helping you become effective and efficient.  If you have some of these skills when getting out of university, it will help you to stand out from your peers in our increasingly competitive job market, in the US and across the globe.

 

How can I develop my transferrable skills?

There are a number of ways to develop your transferable skills:

Each experience you are able to talk about to employers will help you to:

As an international student, your options are more limited than your American counterparts to gain some of this important experience.  The University (OISS and Career Services) is here to help guide you into making smart choices within the regulations set down for you by the US Government through your F-1 visa.

 

Can I work while I study?

Holding a non-immigrant F-1 (Student) visa means you are classified and authorized to be in the United States for the principal purpose of pursuing a full course of study as a degree-seeking student in an academic or educational institution which issued you a SEVIS Form I-20 and where you are expected to enroll on a full-time basis.

There are sections of federal law and regulations that define what F-1 students can and cannot do while in the U.S. Under such law and regulations, employment is highly regulated and very limited.

"Employment" is defined under federal regulations as a rendering of services either on a part-time basis or full-time basis for financial compensation or educational/learning compensation (academic benefits or practical experience).

Employment on-campus or off-campus, paid or unpaid, should be authorized in writing either by OISS or by the U.S. of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Employment is a "benefit" and available only to students who maintain valid F-1 status prior to the application and through the duration of authorized employment.

 

CPT & OPT

What is Practical Training?

Practical Training is employment that is directly related to your major or program of study and commensurate with your degree level.

Employment under practical training must always be authorized, either by an OISS Advisor or USCIS. The two types of practical training are: