WAGNER COLLEGE
CENTER FOR ACADEMIC AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Wagner Union, 3rd Floor International Students Advisor 718-390-3270
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
F-1 OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
WHAT IS IT?
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is off-campus employment authorization which lets F-1 students get work experience in their major field of study. The amount of work permitted is a maximum of 12 months of full-time employment for each educational level (undergraduate, graduate, doctoral) during which you are an F-1 student. You can use it during or after your studies in whatever portions you choose. You can work for any employer, anywhere.
HOW CAN IT BE USED?
ü Summer vacation and semester break – either part-time or full-time employment
ü While school is in session – part-time employment only
ü After completion of all course requirements for a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, excluding the thesis or equivalent – part- or full-time employment
ü After completion of ALL requirements for the course of study – full-time employment only
ü You MAY change jobs during the 12 months.
ü If there is a strike or labor dispute you must stop working for that employer.
HOW CAN YOU QUALIFY FOR IT?
ü You must have been enrolled full-time for at least nine consecutive months.
ü You must be able to describe how the type of work you are seeking directly relates to your major. You do not have to have a job offer to apply for OPT. If you are applying for before-completion-of-studies OPT, however, it is wise that you be as sure as possible of a job so that you don’t waste any of your OPT “account.”
ü You cannot already have used 12 months of full-time Curricular or Optional Practical Training during that educational level.
HOW DO YOU APPLY?
ü Pick up an Application for F-1 Optional Practical Training Employment Authorization packet at the office of the International Student Advisor. There are several forms to fill out, including one to be filled out by your faculty advisor.
ü Return the completed forms to the International Student Advisor, allowing seven working days for processing this paperwork. We will review your application to make sure that you qualify. If we agree that you do, we will recommend that USCIS authorize your OPT employment and provide an envelope for mailing your application.
ü Send your application to USCIS for processing of your work authorization.
WHEN DO YOU APPLY?
ü You need to apply sufficiently in advance so that USCIS receives your application BEFORE your completion of studies date is reached.
ü Timing of your application and advance planning are very important. You cannot work until the EAD is issued by USCIS, yet you must be sure of your completion date. You may request a starting date that is up to 60 days after your completion date. Once that date has arrived, the EAD is in effect and cannot be canceled or postponed, so it is best to have employment secured by the start date.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
After you send your application, plan that it will take about three months for your EAD (Employment Authorization Document) to be sent to you from USCIS. It could take less or more depending on USCIS’s workload. Unfortunately, there is no way to make the process go faster.
It’s important to take USCIS processing time into consideration when planning the date you want to start working! YOU CANNOT BEGIN TO WORK UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR EAD CARD!!
WHAT IF YOU WANT TO TRAVEL BEFORE STARTING
POST-COMPLETION-OF-STUDIES OPT?
You are required to have your employment authorized and a job to which you are returning. If you leave the U.S. before you have received your authorization card, your application will be considered abandoned and you will not be able to apply for another. You must have a letter from your employer stating that you are resuming employment, as well as your I-20 endorsed by the International Student Advisor in order to re-enter the U.S.
WHAT IF YOU DON’T FIND A JOB?
The only way you can cancel and not lose your authorized OPT if you don’t find a job, is for us to return your EAD to USCIS BEFORE it shows your authorized employment is to begin (start date). It is a good idea to have some job prospects before you apply for the EAD because the dates printed on the card cannot be changed and time spent looking for a job is still charged against your 12-month allotment.
YOU CANNOT START WORKING UNTIL USCIS AUTHORIZES YOUR EMPLOYMENT AND YOU HAVE YOUR EAD CARD!
OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING
REQUEST FORM
Name:___________________________________________________Today’s date:________
Print: family, last first middle
Local Address_________________________________________________________________
Telephone:_______________________________ Wagner College ID#__________________
Country of citizenship__________________________ Permanent Residence____________
When does your passport expire?________________________________________________
Program of Study:________________________________Major________________________
Bachelor’s or Master’s
Registered for ____________________units for the _________________________Semester.
Number Fall or Spring ONLY
Completion of studies date (expected or actual)_____________________________________
WHAT KIND OF OPT ARE YOU APPLYING FOR?
q Before Completion of Studies
q Full-Time Only available during vacation periods or if you have completed all of your coursework except for thesis or comprehensives . Starting on _________________________and ending ___________________________.
q Part-time. (less than 20 hours a week) Starting on ____________________
and ending _______________________________.
q After Completion of Studies
Starting__________________________Your start date could be as early as the expected or actual date of completion of studies you put above, or any other date within the 60-day period following it.
Ending______________________________ You may use as much of the 12-month benefit you want, or have left. If you chose to use the full amount, your ending date cannot be later than 14 months after the expected or actual date of completion of studies you indicated above.
q Combination of Before and After Completion of studies. This is only available to you if you are completing your studies less than three months after you file your application and your employment is continuing from before completion OPT to after without a break.
Before Completion of Studies:
q Full-time (see above for the conditions regarding when you can qualify for this form of employment)
q Part-time (less than 20 hours per week)
Starting on____________________ and ending_____________________
After completion of Studies:
Starting (must be day after Before-Completion ends)__________________
Ending________________________
CHECK OFF EVERY DOCUMENT THAT YOU HAVE ATTACHED:
q Advisor’s Recommendation Form
q Form I-765 (c )(3)(I)
q Form I-20 ID
q Photocopies of previous Forms I-20 ID’s, if any
q Two passport – style photos
q $340 fee (check or money order) payable to USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)
q Photocopies of passport identification pages
q Photocopies of Visa
q Photocopies of I-94 card, front and back
q Photocopies of any EAD cards you’ve ever gotten.
WAGNER COLLEGE
CENTER FOR ACADEMIC AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Wagner Union, 3rd Floor International Students Advisor 718-390-3270
APPLICATION FOR F-1 OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
1. COMPLETE THE ATTACHED APPLICATION FORMS:
q OPT Request Form
q Advisor’s Recommendation Form: Your academic advisor must complete the entire form and sign it. It is a good idea to first spend some time discussing your practical training plans with your advisor and/or department’s chairperson. The advisor is certifying that the work you are preparing to do is directly related to what you have been studying at Wagner College, and that it is work suited to your level of education.
q Form I-765: APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Complete items 1-15:
Item # 9 – Social Security number -- leave it blank if you don’t have one.
Item #10 – A-Number or I-94 Number – Put your I-94 number unless USCIS has previously assigned you an alien registration number.
Item #11 – If you have ever applied for hardship or optional practical training employment before, answer yes, where and when you applied, whether it was granted or denied and attach a photocopy of that EAD card.
Your Certification – Sign, put your telephone number and the date.
2. ATTACH THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS TO YOUR APPLICATION:
q Two Passport-style Photographs. See the attached requirements for the photos. DO NOT CUT THE PHOTOS DOWN. Lightly print your name on the back of each photo in pencil.
q Wagner Form I-20. Also, photocopies of all previous I-20’s from every school you ever attended in the U.S.
q Photocopy of any previous EAD Card(s).
q If you never had a previous EAD Card, attach photocopies of your passport identification pages, visa, Form I-94.
q $340 fee in the form of a check or money order. Make it payable to USCIS or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If you are using a personal check, it must have your name and address on it. A fee is required because the work is considered training in addition to your education; it is not merely a work permit.
INFORMATION ABOUT APPLICATION PROCESSING
Send your application to USCIS by certified mail, return receipt requested. Estimate that USCIS will take two to three months to process your application. Unfortunately, there is no way to make it go faster. You cannot begin working until you have received your EAD Card.
Your I-20 cannot be endorsed for reentry to the U.S. unless you have obtained a job.
You will receive: the return receipt (green postcard) after USCIS has received your application; a “Notice of Action” from USCIS; and finally your EAD card.
It is important that you bring these items to the International Student Advisor as soon as you receive them. They may contain information necessary for the completion of your application or other action.
WAGNER COLLEGE
CENTER FOR ACADEMIC AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Wagner Union, 3rd Floor International Students Advisor 718-390-3270
FACULTY ADVISOR’S RECOMMENDATION FORM
This form provides information required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the granting of employment for practical training to an international student. The student’s academic advisor must complete and sign this form. Questions can be directed to Margaret Echanique, Assistant Dean of Advising and International Student Advisor.
STUDENT’S NAME: ____________________________________________________________
ADVISOR’S NAME AND DEPARTMENT: __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
1. When will this student complete his/her studies at Wagner College? (Please fill in the date and check one of the following).
_____/_____/_____
month/ day / year ( ) Master’s thesis defense date
( ) Graduation/conferral of degree date
( ) Completion of semester/last
day as registered student
( ) Submission of dissertation/thesis
( ) Other: ____________________
(please explain)
Please note: An international student must be registered in classes to maintain legal F-1 visa status.
2. It is required that the advisor describe the type of employment the student is seeking after having discussed this with the student.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
o To the best of your knowledge, is this type of employment experience related to the student’s field of study and appropriate to the student’s educational level? YES NO
3. ___________________________________________ ________________
Advisor’s signature Date
