The University Career Center strongly recommends that you consult with International Education Services to keep current on the federal government's visa employment regulations.

On-campus employment
On-campus employment includes: employment located on the University of Maryland, College Park campus, and employment at an off-campus location which is educationally affiliated with the University of Maryland, College Park.

On-campus work permitted by USCIS regulations (with restrictions – i.e. 20 hours/week when school is in session, 40 hours/week during school vacations); Off-campus work possible if employer has filed labor attestation or student has been approved for practical training; Off-campus permission given on I-20 or on EAD.

Students holding graduate assistantships are viewed as working 20 hours on campus during the semester and are therefore not permitted to undertake additional work on- or off-campus. They may however work an extra 20 hours during vacation periods.

Off-campus employment
Off-campus employment such as an internship, co-op or other work experience is only permitted with valid authorization either from IES or the INS. There are two types of authorization available to students who qualify to work off-campus:

1. Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
As stated in the USCIS regulations, F-1 students wishing to participate in an off-campus training program that is "an integral part of an established curriculum" must first obtain work authorization for CPT.

The training, which must be directly related to the student's major field of study, is defined as "alternate work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum which is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school" (federal regulation 8CFR214.2(f)(10)). This cooperative agreement is formalized through an Internship/Co-op/Practicum/Experiential Learning course in which the student enrolls. The University Career Center conducts a UNIV 099 course to assist.

Discuss your plans with an IES advisor to find out about eligibility and restrictions. Remember that if you receive more than 1 year of full-time CPT, you may not be eligible to participate in Optional Practical Training (OPT) later.
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2. Optional Practical Training (OPT)
USCIS permits students in F-1 status to work in the United States so that they may reinforce what they have learned in university degree prorams.

Like Curricular Practical Training (CPT), the work must be in the student's field of study; however, OPT is unlike CPT in several ways:

• USCIS, not IES, authorizes this training
• A job offer is not necessary to apply for OPT.
• The student may participate in OPT before and/or after completing the program of study.
• A student may work for one or more employers, change jobs, or look for work during the training period.
• OPT is limited to 12 months per degree level.

Learn more at an IES workshop.

H-1 Visa
Once a student has graduated and you want to apply for a job for more than the one year that the OPT allows, an employer can apply for an H-1B visa for you. It is initially valid for 3 years, but can be renewed for another 3 years. Basically, employers need to prove that they are paying the prevailing wage that is paid to U. S. citizens. They do not need to prove that they cannot find a qualified U. S. citizen.

Each year, the government issues at least 65,000 H-1 visas, but there are always more applications than there are visas available and the competition is very stiff so not everyone gets an H-1 visa.

Permanent Residency
During the 6-7 years working in the United States, an individual may apply for a “green card” through his/her company. Again, the employer completes the application on behalf of the employee.

Some of the above text is from the IES Web site.

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