Immigration:
Employment for Students
Work Eligibility Information
An international student's eligibility to work on-campus is dependent upon their type of non-immigrant student visa. If a student has entered the U.S. in a non-immigrant status, in either
F-1 (I-20 document) or J-1 (DS 2019 document), then he/she will be eligible to work
on-campus without special permission from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). All full-time international students are permitted to work on-campus for up to 20 hours per week during the academic year (September-May). During official Tufts vacations and summers, students are permitted to work up to 40 hours per week "ON CAMPUS"
ONLY without permission from USCIS or the Tufts International Office.
Students will still need to have a valid Social Security Number in order to work on campus.
Learn more >>
Students who hold an H-1, H-4 or F-2 visa are not permitted to work on or off-campus. So if you hold a non-immigrant status other than F-1 or J-1, you are most likely not allowed to work. Feel free to contact the I-Center to confirm your work eligibility.
What departments are considered "on campus" and which ones are not?
Make sure that the compensation for an on-campus job is paid in the form of a
Tufts University paycheck. The only exception to NOT receiving a Tufts paycheck
is if an international student works for Barnes & Nobles Bookstore which is
physically located at the Tufts campus. This site is considered "on campus" for
purposes of on-campus work authorization. However, if a student if offered a job
at Telefund, with the Advancement Office, this is NOT a site that is considered
on-campus employment. The Jumpstart Early Education program also is NOT considered
on-campus employment. It is not legal for an international student to work for
Telefund or Jumpstart. Any questions regarding whether or not a specific department
is considered "on campus", for employment purposes, should be directed to the
International Center.
Graduate students working as Teaching Assistants (TA) or as Research Assistants (RA) are considered
to be working "on-campus". Teaching & Research Assistantships are equal to 15 hours of work a week.
You are allowed to work more than one job on campus as long as you do not exceed the 20 hour limit per week
(for total hours worked in all jobs, including RAs or TAs) during the academic year! The Human Resources
Service Center monitors the number of hours worked per week and will freeze a payroll account if it is
determined that the student is working more than 20 hours per week.
Work Off-Campus:
After being a full-time student, in good academic standing for 2 consecutive semesters (not including summer school),
F-1 and J-1 students are permitted to apply for off campus work authorization.
The proposed work to be done must be in a position that is related to the student's
academic field of study. This kind of work is known as Optional Practical Training (OPT).
The OPT application process is very lengthy, so please plan accordingly. The I-Center offers
regular OPT informational sessions from late September to early May.
Sign up for an OPT informational session >>
Obtaining Optional Practical Training work permission normally takes up to 3 months,
so advanced planning is strongly recommended. The application must be submitted to
USCIS prior to your actual graduation date OR prior to the end date on either your
I-20 or DS-2019 document,
whichever comes first!
New Optional Practical Training Rules >>
Paid Internships Off-Campus:
Pursuing a paid internship prior to graduation requires following the same procedures outlined above.
It is extremely important to know that paid internships are not always possible because of the length
of time it takes to get the work authorization and the short amount of time a student may be given to
respond to a job offer. Usually there is not sufficient time to process the paperwork and receive an
approval from USCIS before the company wants a student to begin work.
It is critical to know that an international student cannot do a paid internship off-campus
without having applied to USCIS for work authorization and this requires having been at Tufts
for at least 2 semesters as a full-time student.
All questions about off-campus work or off-campus paid internships should be directed to the I-Center.
Unpaid Internships Off-Campus:
Students pursuing unpaid internship opportunities in their field of study are permitted to do so.
No form of compensation can be issued to you (this includes travel reimbursement, honorarium, etc.).
Otherwise, it is automatically considered employment for which you must have obtained work authorization.
These unpaid internship opportunities cannot exceed 20 hours per week during the academic year. During the
official Tufts vacation periods, a student can do a full-time unpaid internship. We recommend that before
you start an unpaid internship that you inform your employer of your non-immigrant status.
Economic Hardship Work Applications or Curricular Practical Training Application:
Both of these categories are extremely difficult to secure. An Economic Hardship application
requires a student to demonstrate to USCIS and to the International Office that there has been
a radical change in their finances based on a natural or economic disaster that has occurred in
their home country or in you're their sponsor's finances and ability to pay their educational
costs. Curricular Practical Training applications require that a student prove that they are
required to partake in an off-campus job opportunity as part of their degree requirement.
This means that it must be listed on the Bulletin as a requirement of all students majoring
in their field of study. As a result of this limitation, very few applications for Curricular
Practical Training are approvable.
|