<p>2 things I would like some information on. Any help would be appreciated</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I feel like it's best for me to take some time off from college, and reorganize my personal life. I don't want to compromise my grades, and I do plan to catch up during summer break. In turn, I am contemplating on a leave of absence from my state college for 1 semester. My adviser tells me that since I'm an international student, the regulations may be different for me. I will contact an international adviser in the near future, but I'm wondering if there are some general differences in regulations that may apply to me and that I should know about.</p></li>
<li><p>If I decide to take some time off, I plan to find another job, possibly off campus. My F1 visa restricts me to work on campus. Furthermore, there's a dumb limit on the number of hours that I can work each week. If I apply for a work permit, I would have to apply based upon "extenuating circumstances" because the other option requires me to have a job offer, and that the job is related to my field of study. I hear that the acquisition of such permit has a very low success rate. In fact, it may lead to the revocation of my Visa. Someone please shed some light on this too.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Your F-1 visa does not permit you to stay in the US if you decide to take a semester off before you graduate (unless it is for medical reasons and you would stay in the US to receive medical treatment). If you take a leave of absence for personal reasons, you would either need to leave the country or apply for a different visa.</p>
<p>FYI, leaving the US for more than 5 months would affect your future work eligibility. You need to be enrolled in school for at least 9 months before you may use your OPT. For most international students this means that they may start using OPT in the summer after their freshman year. However, an extended leave of absence in the middle of your education would reset the 9-month clock.</p>
<p>Hope this gives you a starting point for a conversation with the international student adviser at your college.</p>
<p>P.S. The two work permits you referred to are called Optional Practical Training and Economic Hardship Employment. Neither can be used to work during a leave of absence.</p>
<p>OK. Well I seriously need some time off, not because I’m lazy or anything. It’s really not worth explaining on an internet forum.</p>
<p>thank you for your answer. Will you tell me what Visa would allow me to stay in the US and maybe allow me to work? Also how might I obtain it? I really need time to contemplate some things, and I prefer to stay here and think about it than getting kicked out.</p>
<p>I will talk to an international student adviser tomorrow. It makes me comfortable to verify information with multiple sources before I decide, so your answer is important too. Thanks for the answers so far.</p>
<p>Without a college degree you don’t have many options work-wise. Spontaneously I can only think of the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>NAFTA visas for citizens of Canada or Mexico</li>
<li>International cultural exchange program participants (e.g. Au Pairs)</li>
<li>Temporary agricultural workers</li>
<li>Temporary non-agricultural workers (for seasonal unskilled labor, e.g. in construction, fishing, for holiday resorts)</li>
</ul>
<p>Your international student advisor might have more suggestions.</p>
<p>well… one thing that I’ve come up so far is that I think something needs to change in my life. In the end, all this thinking might not even go anywhere due to the numerous restrictions that I’m facing, and don’t even know about yet. And I might just pull through this semester and take some damages in my GPA and grad school possibilities. It’s possible there’s really nothing I can do. Talk about not having satisfying freedom in the land of the free.</p>
<p>Anyways, maybe nothing more than a sketch on a restaurant napkin, but it’s an idea nonetheless. What if I move to Canada. As far as I know, the rules for internationals in Canada are far less stringent than here in the United States. It may be a step back, but in the long run, it may benefit me, just maybe. the point is not just money, but also freedom. I’d rather have less and be happy having the ability to pull myself up by my bootstraps and demonstrating myself, than being depressed and trapped. I think that feeling is really hitting me hard. Just putting down my thoughts on a list here. It helps me analyze and think when I write them down</p>
<p>If you are willing to travel during your leave of absence, there are other interesting options you could explore. For example, Australia has a “working holiday” visa that allows you to accept short-term employment of any sort (up to six months with a single employer) for a 12 month period. </p>
<p>If it weren’t so late into the semester already, you could also consider taking a minimum full-time course load, just to have time to clear your head. (Maybe some fun classes outside of your major, if it wouldn’t put you behind on graduation?) Then your F-1 visa would still allow you to work for 20 hours a week. You can use OPT for a part-time job related to your major. (You can apply for an OPT work authorization without a definite job offer, by the way.) If you are looking for a job outside of your major area, you might be able to find an interesting job on campus. At my college there are positions in childcare (in our on-campus pre-school), webdesign, financial analysis (for the treasurer’s office) etc in addition to the more traditional on-campus jobs (dining services, libraries, tutoring, research assistantships…).</p>
<p>Well to update, I talked to an adviser over the phone. There really isn’t much option other than what you’ve listed. I would, however, rule out the possibilities of leaving the country for 1 semester. It’s simply against my better judgment to try something like that, after all. Too much risk, and probably too much money that I don’t really have.</p>
<p>After hearing that I was loosing myself a bit over the phone, the adviser did offer his sympathies and said that we had some sort of university policy or something that can possibly allow me to drop down to 6 credit hours. Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Just recently, I’ve been letting my emotions getting the better of me. Maybe it’s time to find a psychological doctor or something. I’ll admit, I’m not the most stable, tiptop cherry blossom at the moment. I have no idea how this will play out in my grad school application, so it’s in my best interest right now to slow down, and find the problem first.</p>
<p>you know for better or for worse, I probably will loose some friends and acquaintances as I fall 1 semester behind. But looking at it from the optimistic perspective, I was 1 semester ahead to begin with. I may have to suck more money from my parents for 1 extra semester (which btw, I plan to make up during summer break), but at least I’ll have the chance to regroup, and spread things out more. Furthermore, I’ll have the chance to really fill in my work hours and have some time doing research, something that is much preferred to flipping through textbooks reading about heat transfer. Over the last couple of years, I’ve felt mostly just envy and despair. I didn’t understand how these other fresh international students adapted so quickly, and I took it upon myself the fact that they’re simply living happier, richer lives. But now, I’m starting to accept that it’s not my fault for feeling deprived of what I believe to be my deserving privileges. Being in the US for so long and having just as much, if not less, than the people who arrive in the US much later than me, it nips away at your pride and self confidence. There have been people telling me that there are those who are worst off than me, or whatnot. but frankly, I’m not buying that ■■■ anymore. They can keep their opinions</p>
<p>If you are willing to travel during your leave of absence, there are other few really interesting options you could visit. You can visit French riviera coz France has a “working holiday” here also you can issue a short term visa. Make sure to stop in Eze in the Cote D’ Azure. Just an incredible little hilltop medieval village thats a short drive from Monaco.
If spending a night there the [vente</a> chalet savoie](<a href=“http://www.bellesdemeures.com/immobilier/achat-de-prestige/73/bien-chalet/]vente”>http://www.bellesdemeures.com/immobilier/achat-de-prestige/73/bien-chalet/) is amazing.Cannes, St. Tropez, and Monaco are must see and great for kids as well.</p>