Office of International Education

UC Santa Cruz

F-1 Student Employment

All employees must obtain a Social Security Number (SSN). Instructions on how to obtain a Social Security Card are available in the Student File and Document Library.

On-Campus Employment

International students can work on-campus up to 20 hours/week during the academic terms and full-time during the vacation or break periods. Special authorization from the USCIS is not required to work on-campus as long as you are in valid F-1 student status and pursuing a full course of study. Once you complete your study program you are no longer eligible to be employed on-campus without special authorization -- i.e., Optional Practical Training (see below). On-campus employment is employment engaged in at UCSC such as a teaching or research assistantship, employment in the University Center, library aide, etc. Generally speaking, this means that you will be receiving a paycheck from this university.

Off-Campus Employment

A summary of the options for off-campus employment for F-1 students is provided below. No matter which off-campus employment option you pursue, the following items apply for all applicants.

  • Off-campus employment requires some form of written or documented authorization issued by the International Advisor and the USCIS.
  • You must be currently in legal status and have been enrolled as an F-1 student in the US for a minimum of one academic year (9 months).
  • Employment, both on and off campus together, is limited to 20 hours per week or less while school is in session and can be full-time during the vacation or break periods.

OPT STEM Extension

On Tuesday, April, 8, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially announced OPT will be extended by 17 months for certain F-1 students whose I-20’s were issued for specific degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (known as STEM).  A total of 29 months of OPT will be permitted for students who qualify for this new extension. CLICK HERE to see if your UCSC degree qualifies as a STEM degree. [Degree code on page 3 of I-20 should match one of the degree codes listed by USCIS]

Requirement:

  1. Currently employed through OPT in the field of their degree
  2. Major (CIP) code on 3rd page of I-20 must match STEM designated degree listed on a USCIS website.
  3. Must have job or job offer by an employer enrolled in E-Verify. E-Verify is an employment verification program. This allows the USCIS to match applications for employment with immigration status. To learn more about E-verify go to http://www.visalaw.com/08jun3/2jun308.html
  4. Must have less than 90 days of unemployment during initial post completion OPT.

The STEM Extension Guidelines/Application Instructions can be found in the Student Document and Forms Library.