What is the minimum work hours for F-1 OPT?

Employment must be a minimum of 20 hours per week, paid or unpaid, to maintain legal F-1 OPT status. You should be able to provide evidence, acquired from your employer, to verify that you worked at least 20 hours per week during the period of employment.

What is the minimum work hours for F-1 OPT?

If you are authorized for post-completion OPT, you must work part time (at least 20 hours per week) or full time.

Can I work less than 40 hours on OPT?

What employment is permitted under Pre-Completion OPT? Pre-completion OPT (OPT that is done prior to program completion), can be authorized either part-time (up to 20 hours per week) or full-time (21 hours or more per week).

Can I work part time on F-1 OPT?

Paid employment: Students on Pre-completion OPT may work part time (20 hours a week or less) while school is in session.

What is the 90 day rule for OPT?

The 90 days start counting from your approved OPT/EAD start date (not the recommended start date nor the program end date on your I-20) and are cumulative. If you accumulate 90 days or more of unemployment, you are in violation of your F-1 status.

CPT, OPT, On-Campus Employment Explained | Working in USA as an International Student on F-1 Visa

Can I work less than 20 hours on OPT?

Employment must be a minimum of 20 hours per week, paid or unpaid, to maintain legal F-1 OPT status. You should be able to provide evidence, acquired from your employer, to verify that you worked at least 20 hours per week during the period of employment.

What is the minimum time for OPT?

The student must apply within 90 days of the current OPT end date. The employment must be full-time (at least 20 hours), traditional, paid employment.

Can I do unpaid work on OPT?

Work during OPT does not need to be paid but always needs to be related to your degree.

How many hours can a F-1 student work?

However, the F-1 student's total work hours for all jobs cannot exceed 20 hours during the school term. The F-1 student may work full-time during those periods when school is not in session or during the student's annual break.

What happens if you don't report OPT within 10 days?

If you miss the 10 day reporting deadline, employment updates must still be reported although the SEVP Portal will not allow OPT students to report employment that began more than 10 days in the past. As such, you will need an OIS advisor's assistance to submit your employment information for you.

Can I work 2 full time jobs on OPT?

The short answer: Yes! You can work multiple jobs on OPT. You can accept multiple full-time jobs, part-time jobs, or a combination of both while on your OPT. One critical aspect of the post-completion OPT is that there's no cap on the total number of hours you work.

Can I work 60 hours a week on OPT?

There is no maximum number of hours that can be worked while on STEM OPT, but because there is a minimum, it may be difficult to work for more than 2 employers. For example, if you work for two qualifying STEM OPT employers, at a minimum, you would need to be working 40 hours per week.

What counts as unemployed time during OPT?

Unemployment Days: Your unemployment days start after your OPT start date on your EAD card. You get a total of 90 days of unemployment for the duration of post-completion OPT. While you are considered in valid F-1 status while unemployed, travel may be risky if you don't have a job offer or proof of employment.

How long can you not work on OPT?

Students with a 12-month Post-Completion OPT authorization cannot be unemployed for more than 90 days. This is aggregate, meaning that if you have 40 days of unemployment, you would only be allowed to be unemployed for a remaining 50 days before you risk violating your immigration status.

What happens if an F-1 student works more than 20 hours?

Simply committing an "employment violation" automatically throws you out of lawful F-1 status. Once you are out of status, you will need to file an application for reinstatement to get back into proper F-1 status (covered below)—or face possibly accruing unlawful presence in the United States.

Can an F-1 or J 1 student work more than 20 hours per week when classes are not in session?

For on-campus work, an F1 student is subject to the following rules: You must maintain valid F1 status. You can work up to 20 hours per week while school is in session. You can work full-time on campus during holidays and vacation periods if you intend to register for the next academic semester.

Can F-1 students work more than 40 hours on OPT?

In other words, there is no limit to the number of hours allowed for working. But you need to comply with the requirement of working for the minimum number of hours to be considered as being employed. You should work at least 20 hours a week.

Do F-1 students have to be full-time?

International students in F-1 immigration status are required by immigration law to be enrolled full-time during the regular semesters (Fall and Spring).

Can F-1 students get SSN?

F-1 Visa students are eligible for a Social Security Number only if one of the following apply: Student has been issued an Employment Authorization Document / EAD by the USCIS. Student has an I-20 endorsed for Curricular Practical Training. Student is currently employed on campus or has a job offer to do so.

What are the rules for employment in F-1 OPT?

Unpaid employment

The work must be at least 20 hours per week for students on post-completion OPT. These students must be able to provide evidence from the employer that the student worked at least 20 hours per week during the period of employment.

What are the work conditions for OPT?

Employment must be within the student's field for which OPT was authorized (listed on the I-20). At least 20 hours/week (for standard post-completion OPT). Employment may be paid or unpaid as long as the unpaid work does not violate labor laws. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division determines labor laws.

What happens if I forgot to report employment on OPT?

Failure to report on time is 100% on you. Typically, if this is your first employer and you've failed to report, we'll help you and change it. If it's your second employer and you've been on OPT a while--you should know better, and your record may be left inaccurate.

What is the 5 month rule for OPT?

The five month rule refers to the termination of a student's record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) based on the student being away from classes or not in status for five months.

What is the 14 month rule for OPT?

14-month OPT Period

To allow F-1 students to complete the full 12-month period of OPT, (the 14-month requirement will begin from the date of approval of the Form I-765 for applications for post-completion OPT, instead of from the student's program end date.

Can you apply for green card on OPT?

If you want to apply for a green card while you are in F-1 OPT visa status, you will need to apply early. Depending on your home country, there might be a lengthy wait. While the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act in July 2019, the Senate has not acted on this bill.