<p>Ok.... question.... if I wanted to do internships/co-ops in the US.... does the F-1 student VISA cover that?? I know it doesn't allow you to work in the US, but I remember there being something about major-related jobs. If not, is there a VISA that allows you to both study and work?? What about part time jobs - would I be able to have one on or off campus??</p>
<p>Thanks =)</p>
<p>There is good information here. I believe you can use the "practical training" option during or after your studies.</p>
<p>F-1</a> Optional Practical Training after Completion of Study</p>
<p>An F-1 visa allows you to work part-time on campus while school is in session, full-time on campus during breaks and a total of 12 months off-campus in a job related to your major, called Optional Practical Training (OPT). You can split the 12 months up into as many pieces as you would like, e.g. 3 months in the summers before and 1 month during winter break in sophomore, junior and senior year, or you can save all of it for after graduation. You can also use your OPT to work part-time off-campus during the academic year, but I would not necessarily recommend that route. </p>
<p>The options above are open to all F-1 students. Then there are a few work options that are more restrictive. One of them is Curricular Practical Training: you can work off-campus in addition to OPT if you receive academic credit for your work, e.g. in a teaching certification or nursing or engineering degree program. If you use more than 12 months of CPT, you will lose all of your OPT eligibility. Not all colleges will let you do internships for academic credit, so CPT is not an option for everybody.</p>
<p>Another special category is "hardship employment". If you can prove that you would have been able to finance your college education when you entered the States but because of an unpredictable event out of your control (e.g. a significant change in exchange rates) you are struggling to pay your college tuition bill, you may get the permission to work off campus without touching your OPT to earn enough money to finish your college degree. This is nothing you can plan for, because hardship employment is by definition unpredictable.</p>
<p>Edit: x-posted with MidwestMom2Kids_</p>
<p>Ok, so if I wanted to do the Co-op program (which I think is 4 terms of working & 6 studying?) I couldn't? Oh... and research isn't included in this whole 12 months working business, right?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You can do a co-op because the work would be part of your academic program, so you qualify for CPT. You can do as much CPT as you get credit for, even in excess of 12 months. However, if you get more than 12 months of CPT you would lose all of your OPT, which means that you cannot work during breaks or after graduation outside of CPT.</p>
<p>Research on the campus of your home college is on-campus work and does not require an additional work authorization. For off-campus research you would need an authorization like OPT or CPT or a working visa.</p>
<p>Barium if you work for say 11 months and 29 days using your CPT, do you still have all 12 months of your OPT left or only a day of it?</p>
<p>You would still have 12 months of OPT left. Sorry for being unclear about that. You can do 364 days of CPT and 364 days of OPT, but once you hit the 365th day of CPT you lose all of your OPT eligibility.</p>
<p>Actually they recently changed the OPT period from 12 months to 29 months if you pursue a 'degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics'; read the article here - DHS:</a> 17-Month Extension of Optional Practical Training for Certain Highly Skilled Foreign Students</p>
<p>Thanks for the link! Note that the additional 17 moths are an extension of post-completion OPT and cannot be used to work e.g. during break before graduation. Can you help me understand what DHS means with the following criteria:
[quote]
To be eligible for an OPT extension, an F-1 non-immigrant student must:</p>
<ul>
<li>Currently be participating in a 12-month period of approved post-completion OPT
...
[/quote]
Does that mean that you only get 17 additional months of OPT if you have saved all of your initial 12 months of OPT for post-graduation?</li>
</ul>
<p>b@rium, if you're asking me, I'm sorry but I have very little idea about OPT - I don't know much more than the original poster about all that stuff. I saw the link a while ago somewhere on the 'Class of 2012 from Nepal' thread (I think) and decided to save the page on my computer. If it is the Nepal thread that I saw it on, then someone over there might be able to help you.</p>
<p>ok...thanks so much for your help! Now I can stop freaking out.... for a while anyway. haha... this VISA business is so confusing...</p>
<p>I think they have been loose with the wording of the Press Release.</p>
<p>The change has been brought in to ameliorate the existing difficulties, and not to bring in fresh complications! </p>
<p>If one reads the .pdf file of the Interim Final Rule, available on the same page, it is clear that:</p>
<p>'Post-completion OPT' need not necessarily be of 12 months. The only pre-condition is u should be on an authorised OPT when applying for extension of 17 months.</p>