<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Suppose you're an international student, who used to live in another country, but goes to an American college. Over the holidays, do you have to return to wherever you came from, or can you get an internship or something? Is it only possible to stay (not at the college, of course) over the holidays if you have an "official" job or can it be for any reason?</p>
<p>Thanks ^^.</p>
<p>You are free to stay in the US during breaks without any sort of justification. Of course your college might close the dorms and you might have to find another place to stay. </p>
<p>FYI, you need to get a work authorization to do (off-campus) internships during breaks. That requires some advanced planning on your part as well as a processing fee of several hundred dollars. You should also know that the total amount of time you may work (off-campus) in the US is limited to 12 months.</p>
<p>You can stay in the US during the holidays without more paperwork. You can also work up to 40 hours/week for your university without anymore paperwork or do off-campus internships with prior authorisation from USCIS. Some college dorms kick you out during vacations (as most US students go home) so you’d have to sublet an apartment, go travelling, stay with a friend or go home.</p>
<p>Here in Nepal, tHEY GO hiking</p>
<p>
I thought that you are allowed 18 months of practical training, or did they change it recently?</p>
<p>I don’t think it ever was 18 months…???</p>
<p>I can start quoting several dozen websites saying that students get 12 months of OPT, but I will let you check for yourself. Of course there are other ways than OPT to get a work authorization (e.g. CPT) but they only apply to few students.</p>
<p>The new rule also provides for the extension of OPT from the traditional 12 months to 29 months to students with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).</p>
<p>Of course there ARE a lot of restrictions to that too</p>
<p>I would not rely on the OPT extension though. Your employer has to jump through a lot of hoops to let you take advantage of that rule, and according to an immigration lawyer who gave a workshop at my college, few employers are willing to do that.</p>
<p>Traditional OPT on the other hand is painless for the employer.</p>
<p>Once you arrive at your college/university, pay a visit to the International Students Office. They will have suggestions about ways to spend your holidays. Some have have networks of families in the community that will be happy to host you for all or part of your break.</p>
<p>for me, i just stay home, watch movies and play my lovely xbox360.</p>
<p>PS3 and tv shows are a better waste of time :D</p>
<p>Xbox FTW… Okay, don’t get me started on that. :D</p>
<p>But, seriously, thank you all for the advice. Now I have some idea of what I can do in around two years’ and one month’s time. :)</p>
<p>That’s a good habit, “long-term” future planning :)</p>
<p>I would rank the ability to plan as one of the things I do best. -sticks nose in air arrogantly-</p>
<p>Seriously, though, that’s just one of the ways in which trying to set up your own business benefits you. :)</p>
<p>You can volunteer. Especially during the summers there are agencies that you only pay for the transportation; they pay all other expenses, in return you volunteers such as 'CONSERVE WILDLIFE ’ or ‘Restore Coral Reefs’, ‘save the rainforests’ etc…</p>
<p>…in other words, WWF i.e. World Wide Fund for Nature</p>
<p>and btw python38, I like your habit :)</p>
<p>Hmm… I never considered volunteering before. Looks like my options are:</p>
<p>-Getting a summer job (££££££ ;))
-Volunteering (Possibility of going to interesting places :D)
-Going home</p>
<p>No smiley with “Going home”? Hmm</p>
<p>Lots of international students travel around the US staying at the homes of their class-mates during the breaks. We had Czech, Ecaudorian, Indian and Chinese students camping out in our basement over spring break. They had been to two other cities before ours, all staying with classmates. It was fun having them around. This summer, I’m hoping we get to host a few more interesting visitors.</p>
<p>I’m staying on campus this summer and just chilling out! I babysit for friends and that gives me some extra money, and I’ll be roadtripping with friends for most of July!</p>