You may be endlessly grateful for your opportunity to pursue an academic career in the United States with an F-1 visa. However, this opportunity may not be a “free ride,” so to speak. That is, you may need to support yourself financially during your stay, not to mention pay for your tuition, room and board, textbooks, and more. And so, you may wish to seek part-time or full-time employment, within the bounds of what your student visa allows for. This is where curricular practical training may come into play. Please continue reading to learn more about curricular practical training and how an experienced work authorization permit lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help you apply for it when you still have the opportunity to do so.
What is curricular practical training for student visa holders?
According to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), curricular practical training is an alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education, or other required internship or practicum that a U.S. employer sponsor may offer through agreements with a U.S. college, university, or other educational institution. In doing so, international students carrying F-1 visas may engage in paid or unpaid off-campus work experience relevant to their academic curriculum and their chosen major of study.
If you are interested in this training program, you must apply for it before your program’s end date. For this, you must secure a training opportunity first, and then visit the designated school official at your institution. The official may authorize and endorse your participation in this program through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Lastly, if you are extra ambitious, you may qualify for two training opportunities simultaneously. But importantly, you must obtain separate endorsements and authorizations for each one.
What are my work authorization options after graduation?
To reiterate, your curricular practical training opportunity may only be afforded to you before you complete the academic curriculum for your major of study. So, if you wish to continue gaining worthwhile work experience in the United States, you may look into the possibility of optional practical training. This is different because it is designated for international students who have fulfilled their program requirements and wish to augment their learning with real-world experience, according to ICE.
You must understand, though, that you may lose your eligibility for occupational practical training if you have participated in full-time curricular practical training for 12 months or longer. All of this to say, you must think far ahead about the future goals you wish to accomplish during your stay in the U.S. before you accept any employment opportunities through this training program.
You do not need to feel alone in this process. A skilled work authorization permit lawyer in Milwaukee, WI is ready to be in your corner and support you throughout. So please reach out to Sesini Law Group, S.C. whenever you are ready.