USA Financial Aid and Employment

Financial aid of any kind is very rarely available from North American colleges and universities for undergraduates other than U.S. citizens and permanent residents. When it is available and arranged in advance, income from employment with the school can form part of your proof of financial ability for issuance of Form I-20 or IAP-66, but the income must be specified on the form and supported by a letter from the school. Among the possible work programs after you enter are:

On-campus employment. F-1 students may, work on the campus of the school they are attending provided they are employed by the school itself or by an outside agency or company providing services to students on the campus. No permission is required. Students may not work more than 20 hours per week except during vacation periods. J-1 students also may work on campus but require written permission from the responsible officer who is authorized to sign Form IAP-66.

Curricular practical training. This is work that is part of your school’s academic program. Authorization is provided by the school’s foreign student adviser on the reverse of Form I-20 for F-1 students or in the form of an authorizing letter for J-1 students. This work may be wither part-time or full-time, depending upon the school’s program. If you use a full 12 months of full-time F-1 curricular practical training, you will not be eligible for any other practical training.

Optional practical training. There are two kinds of F-1 optional practical training, training during studies and training after studies. No more than one year of such training is permitted during your entire academic program.

Severe economic hardship employment. This kind of employment is also authorized by the immigration Service upon a foreign student adviser’s written recommendation. You are eligible after one academic year of study only if you can show that your financial situation has changed for reasons entirely beyond your control or ability to plan ( for example, death or illness of a sponsor, sudden currency devaluation, or a disaster such as war, hurricane, flood, or earthquake affecting your sponsor’s ability to send money).

There are two additional work programs: employment with a company that has certified to the U.S. government that part-time U.S. workers are not available, and work for an international organization. Both programs are very small and available only in certain parts of the U.S. F-2 and M-2 dependents are not permitted to work. J-2 dependents may apply to the Immigration Service for work permission, provided that the income will not be used to support the J-1 student, but such requests are not always granted.