The number of international students in the USA has touched all-time high of 671,616 in the academic year 2008-2009.[1] Out of these, 103,260 students are from India, making India the leading country of origin. International students contribute $17.8 billion to the US economy, through their expenditures on tuition and living expenses, according to the US Department of Commerce. It is believed that most of the international Indian students who come to study in the US are from middle class families. And 65% of these students receive most of their funds from personal and family source.
So how about the rest of the 35%? How do they fund their education?
By doing part-time jobs. Part-time jobs in the US pay on an hourly basis. International students try to fund their living expenses by working in part-time jobs.
Are the international graduate students legally allowed to work part-time jobs?
The international students who hold F-1 visa can’t accept any off-campus employment at anytime during the study. Period. Before discussing about illegal off-campus jobs, let’s review the difference between “illegal and Legal jobs”, the difference is “Legal means paying taxes to the government and following the rules as an F-1 student” where as “Illegal means receiving a pay without paying taxes to the government and breaking rules as an F-1 student”. If you pay the taxes, the government is aware of what you are doing and if you don’t, yes, you are in a risk. (F-1 is the visa status given to the international students who come to the USA to pursue academic courses).
On-campus jobs
Almost every college and university in the US have part-time jobs for students. To name a few on-campus jobs, Research Assistantship, Teaching Assistantship, college website maintenance, desktop maintenance, campus security personnel, jobs at the university’s international office, university library and college cafeteria. These jobs also called as on-campus jobs and are absolutely legal and safe to work. There is no problem with these jobs as long as the duration of work is 20 hours a week or less while school is in session. Students may be employed full-time during vacations and recess periods as long as they intend to register for the next term. Other legal jobs include internships, Curricular Program Training(CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT).
Curricular Practical Training is an opportunity for international students in F-1 status to participate in professional, temporary employment such as an internship or similar situation, prior to the completion of studies.[6] Optional Practical Training is an opportunity to get professional work experience which will enhance their overall educational experience in the US. OPT can be obtained for off-campus employment and/or practical training completed prior to (pre-completion) or beginning after (post-completion) the completion of studies.[6] CPT is compulsory part of curriculum whereas OPT is optional.
OPT, CPT programs grant legal authorization to work in professional off-campus jobs. After the graduation, one can work full time or part-time with F-1 student status on OPT (Optional Program Training). OPT starts 2 months after the completion of graduation.
Off-campus jobs
There are also a lot of part-time jobs available outside college/university at external agencies. Such as jobs at malls, restaurants, gas stations, etc., These jobs are also called as off-campus jobs. It is illegal for international students(holding F-1 visa) to work in these jobs. Since most of the students come to the US with the desire to earn money and supplement family support or enjoy with that money by leading a luxurious life in the USA until the end of the graduation, Indian students tend to look for off-campus part-time jobs which are relatively easier to manage.
How much money do on-campus vs off-campus jobs fetch students
If its TA/RA they get about $12-15/hr with a waiver for 3 course credits. It will be for a semester or for an year(mostly for PhD but not always). This is because some courses are taken by only few students and if you are the first person in the ranking of class then you can get a TA. On-campus minimum wage is $8/hr and will be till $15.
Off-campus jobs pay just about the minimum wage as per the Fair Labor Standard act. It depends upon the state where you reside, approximately around 7$/hr.
Ease of finding an off-campus job vs on-campus job
The most common complaint against on-campus jobs by the students is that, they are hard to find and that they don’t allow students to work for enough time to be able to pay their bills.
Whereas off-campus jobs are ubiquitous. The US being an international hub for businesses attracts a lot of businessmen from Asia. They own motels, restaurants, fast food centers, sub-ways, pizza huts, conventional stores, gas stations etc. These owners are in constant need for some young people who are ready to manage their stores at minimum wages. They don’t prefer to employ natives because of the fear of being dominated by the natives. And another reasons for favoring Asians over natives, is because of the image of Asians for being more hardworking and less complaining.
Indian students tend to choose to work for Indian owners to keep themselves safe from the being caught. Indians students have a confidence for that their owner would support them in case something wrong happens.
Chances and consequences of getting caught
There is only one type of security in the USA who handle the illegal duties done by F-1 students. They are the “Home Land Security”. The US department of Police doesn’t involve in the issues of F-1 visa holders. Even if cops come to know about illegal activities by F-1 students they delegate the issue to the Home Land Security.
There is a general notion among students that “Home Land Security is not strict. And tries not to involve much in these matters until an F-1 student is caught red-handed.” Chaitanya, a grad student from California supports this notion, says, “The chances of getting caught may increase only when a mishap occurs at the place you work.”
The chances of being caught are low. But the consequences of getting caught are extremely severe. There are no further steps to proceed with except that the student’s visa gets canceled and gets deported to their country of origin.
Incident of getting caught
I have known an Indian student who got caught red handed working in an off-campus job at a gas station. He was immediately deported to Canada and was asked to undergo a visa interview for entry to the US.
He had admitted his breaking of the rules and had promised that he would not repeat such violations. He pleaded guilty telling the visa officer that he had to take up off campus job to be able to repay his loan.
The visa officer had warned him that they would put a red stamp on the student’s visa and deport him to India. The visa officer was kind enough to let that student resume his study at the USA. But this is just a case where the boy was lucky. There is no guarantee that you would be acquitted if you were caught working in an illegal part-time job.
Fred, a top contributor at Yahoo Answers on the topic Immigration reacts:
“You need to quit your off-campus employment before you get caught, arrested and deported. Don’t you believe that it is foolish to jeopardize your education by making your self deportable?
In addition to being foolish, you are very unethical. You have knowingly violated the terms of your admission. When you applied for your F-1 visa, you submitted documentation attesting to the fact that you had sufficient funds to support yourself while in school without needing to accept employment. Did you deceive the visa officer?”[2]
Off-campus jobs and academics:
In the US, grad school are geek schools and any one who attends them are considered as a scholar. Grad students are looked at as matured and independent individuals. So they are easily considered for off-campus jobs. But on the flip side, grad students are loaded so much with courses that they wouldn’t be able to spare even 10 hours a week for a part-time job. So off-campus jobs undoubtedly affect students’ academics.
Conclusion:
Graduate student life is precious, instead of studying for your masters degree, doing an illegal part-time job is certainly a bad choice. In master’s you learn a lot of things. Doing illegal part-times could ruin your learning and hamper your career opportunities.
If you came all the way from India to the US to really study, then you better focus on learning. It’s not in your best interests to find ways to earn quick buck. If you are poor, then try for getting Good score in G.R.E and try to get admission in a good university with some funding. If you think that you cannot pay your tuition fee, then try to get some internship and work for projects through which you can earn practical experience and also money. And remember that there is a special provision for students to apply for permission for working off campus jobs in case of unforeseen financial hardship.[3]
Don’t ever misuse your F-1 status.
- International Students in the USA
- Yahoo Answers – F1 student work off-campus
- F-1 Student economic hardship employment
- USCIS – Students and Employment
- Core77.com – Can I work part time while study at US
- Gannon University – Employment Benefits for International Students in F-1 status
We have taken a lot of efforts to furnish accurate information. In case errors have crept in, or wrong facts have been presented, feel free to point the mistake by writing it in the comments.
About the Author: Sridhar Jammalamadaka is the editor of this blog, Interview Mantra. He is a professional blogger from Pune, India. He is an experienced programmer with expertise in Java, C and Micro Controller programming. He enjoys playing cricket and piano. Through this blog, he wishes to gather a large online community of aspiring Indians - students and working professionals. You can find him on Twitter at @sriavr 