Hello,
I am a sophomore at a LAC. I have been trying to apply for summer internships, but most employers will not even accept my application because I am not authorised to work in the US. It would be really nice if anyone here could give me advice on what I should do, and what type of internship opportunities are available for international students. I am a computer science and economics double major, and I am looking for tech or finance internships.
Can your International Students Office give you some help with this? Surely they know where students have found internshipsin the past.
Other students from your school who have found internships in the past may be your best resource. I do remember that it’s absurdly difficult to find an internship as an international student, which is why many international students at my LAC spent the summer on campus and got a job there. (That was a particularly attractive option for CS majors. The web development team, IT and the computer science department all hired students over the summer.) The international students who did find internships off-campus usually arranged them themselves with small local companies, instead of participating in advertised internship programs at larger corporations.
From an employer’s perspective, it makes sense not to consider international students because internship programs are used as a recruiting tool. Even though you may be authorized to work this summer, you’ll eventually need work sponsorship and that involved a lottery (for an H-1B visa). Can’t hire you if you lose the lottery. It’s simply a better investment of time and money to recruit US citizens and permanent resident.
As an F1 visa holder, you ARE Authorized to work in the US over the summer through something called CPT. You are NOT asking for an H1B visa. So, check 'authorized ’ and say you’ll use cpt.
However cpt uses time from your opt time, whereas working on campus doesn’t.
Now, call your international student center and ask TODAY about cpt and summer internships.