So, you can work for an organization, start your own venture, volunteer, or perform any other kind of job. Another similarity between a pre-completion OPT job and a post-completion OPT job is that it can be either paid or unpaid. Just like in the case of a pre-completion OPT EAD card, you need not have a job offer in hand while applying for a post-completion OPT EAD card.
You should work at least 20 hours a week. But you need to comply with the requirement of working for the minimum number of hours to be considered as being employed. In other words, there is no limit to the number of hours allowed for working. Post-completion OPT jobs have to be carried out full-time. In the case of pre-completion OPT jobs carried out during official school breaks (which might include full-time jobs, part-time jobs, or a combination of both), the total hours should not exceed 40 in a week. But you just need to ensure that the total hours combining all your pre-completion part-time OPT jobs do not exceed 20 in a week. You can work on multiple jobs during your pre-completion OPT. You need not have a job offer in hand while applying for an EAD card for a pre-completion job. For pre-completion part-time OPT, you cannot work for more than 20 hours a week.įor pre-completion full-time OPT, you can work for more than 20 hours a week but not more than 40 hours a week. Pre-completion OPT jobs that you undertake throughout your degree program can be paid or unpaid, but you must not work more than the hours allowed. Next, you should have permission from the USCIS and the DSO of your school in the form of an EAD (Employment Authorization Document) card. But, irrespective of the type of OPT work authorization, you need to abide by certain guidelines for maintaining a valid F1 status.įirst and foremost, the employment opportunity should be related to your major area of study. You can even provide your services as an independent contractor.Ĭandidates can also get engaged in research activities, short-term gigs, self-employment endeavors, volunteering, and community service work. You can work for a sole proprietorship firm, a limited liability partnership (LLP) firm, a company or any other form of the business entity directly or through a placement consultant. However, students can opt to work on a part-time basis even when the school is not in session. Holding multiple OPT jobs or having multiple OPT employers during pre-completion OPT, post-completion OPT, and STEM OPT extension is bound by certain rules made to protect the interests of international students, native workers, and employers in the United States of America.ĭuring pre-completion OPT, students can work part-time and full-time when the school is in session and not in session respectively. Can you Work for Multiple Employers on OPT? Thus, STEM candidates get a total period of 36 months (3 years) for pursuing employment.
This period is known as ‘STEM OPT Extension’, ‘OPT STEM Extension’ or ‘STEM Extension’. Students enrolled in a degree program, which is included in the designated list of STEM fields prepared by the USCIS, get an additional period of 24 months once their initial OPT gets completed. You can split your OPT period between pre-completion OPT and post-completion OPT. For each level of academic degree, i.e., bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral, you are allowed 12 months of OPT. Though it’s not required to mention, optional practical training or OPT is a way through which F1 student visa holders can secure employment in any part of the US before and/or after completion of their studies. What is Optional Practical Training (OPT)? KNOW MORE: 100% JOB PLACEMENT PROGRAM FOR F1 OPT & CPT This blog post is intended to provide a definite answer to this doubt. If you have conducted a decent amount of research, you might be having an idea of OPT, i.e., Optional Practical Training.Īmongst the many doubts surrounding the OPT, the doubt whether multiple OPT jobs can be carried out at a given point in time or not, trouble almost every student. But the more you research the more questions you encounter. Students falling into the latter category, i.e., F1 visa holders who have not yet moved to the USA or have moved recently might be having the task of researching the rules and regulations on the top of their to-do list. Well, international students who have successfully completed their degree program in the USA would be in a much better position as compared to international students who have just availed a visa or begun studying. Whether you are aspiring for an F1 visa, studying in the USA on an F1 visa, or planning to change your status from an F1 visa, your mind must be baffled with hundreds of questions.
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