Employment
Illegal or Unauthorized Employment
Strict rules regulate an F-1 student’s place of employment, hours per week, and in some cases, type of employment. Simply committing an "employment violation" automatically throws you out of lawful F-1 status. Once you are out of status, you will need to file an application for reinstatement to get back into proper F-1 status—or else face possibly accruing unlawful presence in the United States.
For additional information, click here to view more about International students and Employment Authorization.
On-Campus Employment
F-1 students and J-1 degree-seeking students are permitted to work on campus(payment is from the university) up through the last day of the semester they are enrolled. Students are not permitted to work on campus after the program end date on their I-20. It is the student's responsibility to inform your supervisor that you can no longer work on campus from this date. Find more information about on-campus employment and open positions on the Student Employment website.
On campus Student Employment Guidelines for International Students are as follows:
- Enrollment Requirements
International Student Employees must enroll for and maintain full-time enrollment (12 hours or more for undergraduates and 9 hours or more for graduates) during fall and spring semesters unless approved for less by the Office of International Affairs. If approved for less than full-time enrollment per an Underload form from the Office of International Affairs, the student must still adhere to enrollment policies for Student Employment.
Student employees who are also Graduate Assistants must only maintain at least 6 hours of enrollment fall and spring semesters. - Summer Student Employment
The student must be either: 1) enrolled in and maintain at minimum half-time status: 3 credit hours for undergraduates and 2 credit hours for graduate/professional; 2) maintained in the prior spring term a minimum of half-time status; or 3) enrolled for the upcoming fall term at a minimum of half-time status. Audit courses do not count toward meeting the enrollment requirement. - Final semester Employment
If you will be underenrolled you must do one of the following things to maintain your employment in your final semester:- enroll for a class and meet the requirement
- apply for graduation
- submit a Reduced Course Load Form. Graduate students must also complete the Graduate School Underload/Overload Approval Form.
- Work Hours
International Students on F-1 and J-1 visa's who are employed on campus at SIUE are prohibited from working more than 20 hours per week during fall and spring semesters. During summer semester and university break weeks, an International Student Employee can work up to 28 hours per week. SIUE non-degree students (exchange, visiting, etc.) are not permitted to work on campus. J-1 students may not begin a job without written permission from their international advisor. If you already received a job offer, you will need to complete the documents required for obtaining a Social Security number.
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate and Teaching Assistantships are awarded and managed by the academic departments. More information on assistantships is found on the Graduate Students website. You may also contact the graduate director of your program for information on graduate assistant positions within your program of study.
Off-Campus Employment
F-1 students must have been enrolled full time for at least one academic year (fall and spring) before obtaining authorization to work off-campus. Work authorization must be recommended by your immigration advisor, and in some cases, approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
F-1 and J-1 students must have approval before working off campus. See CPT Authorization Process.
