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International Students and Employment Authorization
Dear John,
Please follow all rules and guidelines included with your visa status/authorizations for 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.
What Is Unauthorized Employment?
It can be tempting for students to try to earn extra cash by picking up additional work "under the table" or without authorization. Working for cash as a hotel housekeeper, a waitress, a cook or a dishwasher are popular ways to do so.
However, working without the required authorization can get you into trouble. As the immigration regulations state, "Any unauthorized employment by a nonimmigrant constitutes a failure to maintain status." (See 8 C.F.R. § 214.1(e)). If you are working off-campus without special permission from your DSO (for CPT) or USCIS (for OPT or severe economic hardship), then you are engaging in unauthorized or illegal employment. If you begin working without authorization and later receive authorization, the time you worked without permission is still considered illegal employment. Even working without permission on the campus of a university you previously attended is unauthorized employment.
Consequences of Engaging in Unauthorized Employment While in F-1 Student Status
Unauthorized employment puts you out of status. DO NOT WORK WITHOUT APPROVAL.
What happens if you disregard the rules described above? Accepting illegal employment can directly hinder your ability to legally live, work, or visit the United States now and in the future. A proven incident of unauthorized employment will make you ineligible for reinstatement to lawful F-1 status. Unauthorized employment can result in the need to exit and re-enter the U.S. on a new immigration record, make you ineligible for OPT or H1B status, and/or prevent you from obtaining U.S. permanent residency in the future.
Another issue is that, as soon as you engage in illegal employment, you could be found to be unlawfully present in the United States. Accrual of more than 180 days of unlawful presence will subject you to a three-year bar on reentry (if you leave the U.S.) and one year of unlawful presence will subject you to a ten-year bar on reentering the United States. (See Consequences of Unlawful Presence in the U.S.—Three- and Ten-Year Time Bars.) If you find yourself in this situation, consult an immigration attorney immediately.
Authorized Employment
If you are interested in obtaining authorized employment. Please see the following helpful links:
Sincerely,
International Student and Scholar Services
Office of International Affairs
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Telephone: 618.650.3785
isss@siue.edu
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