Chapter 6 - Employment

Subject to varied eligibility criteria, F-1 students may be eligible to engage in on-campus or off-campus employment. Not all types of F-1 employment require employment authorization from USCIS. This chapter describes the types of employment in which F-1 students may engage.

A. On-Campus Employment [Reserved]

[Reserved]

B. Severe Economic Hardship [Reserved]

[Reserved]

C. Severe Economic Hardship Due to Emergent Circumstances

DHS may suspend certain regulatory requirements for F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of emergent circumstances.^[1] This suspension, also known as special student relief (SSR), first appeared in the Code of Federal Regulations in 1998.^[2]

Emergent circumstances are events that affect F-1 students from a particular region and create severe economic hardship. These events may include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, financial crises, and military conflicts.

The Secretary of Homeland Security may suspend duration of status, full course of study, and on-campus and off-campus employment regulatory requirements due to emergent circumstances. DHS designates SSR by publication of a Federal Register notice, which provides the start and end dates of the suspension of those requirements.

1. Lawful Status

Generally, DHS considers an F-1 student to be in lawful status if the student is pursuing a full course of study at an approved educational institution.^[3] However, when DHS designates SSR by publication of a Federal Register notice, eligible students may reduce their full course of study as a result of accepting employment authorized by the Federal Register notice.

DHS considers an F-1 student to be in lawful status during the period of authorized employment, subject to any other conditions specified in the notice, provided that for the duration of the authorized employment, the student is:

• Registered for at least the minimum number of semester or quarter hours of instruction per academic term as specified in the Federal Register notice; and

• Is continuing to make normal progress toward completing their course of study. 

When DHS designates SSR by publication of a Federal Register notice, the number of semester or quarter hours of instruction per academic term cannot be less than 6 semester or quarter hours if the student is at the undergraduate level or one half of the credit hours normally required under a full course of study if an undergraduate student is enrolled in a term of different duration. A student at the graduate level must remain registered in a minimum of 3 semester or quarter hours of instruction.^[4]

Students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 at a private school or grades 9 through 12 at a public high school must maintain the minimum number of hours of class attendance per week prescribed by the academic institution for making normal progress toward graduation.^[5]

2. Eligibility Criteria

For an F-1 student to be eligible for SSR, the designated school official (DSO) must certify in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) that the student:

• Is a citizen of a country specified in the Federal Register notice or, if such eligibility is specified in the SSR notice, a person having no nationality who last habitually resided in the specified country;

• Was lawfully present in the United States in F-1 status on the date of publication of the Federal Register notice;

• Is enrolled in a school certified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP);

• Is currently maintaining F-1 status; and

• Is experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the emergent circumstances specified in the Federal Register notice.

The DSO should note any specifics, as ICE SEVP recommends, in the remarks section of the F-1 student’s Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status (Form I-20).

3. Documentation

On-Campus Employment

An F-1 nonimmigrant student authorized by the student’s DSO to engage in on-campus employment by means of the Federal Register notice does not need to file an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) with USCIS.^[6]

To engage in on-campus employment more than 20 hours per week, consistent with a designation of SSR, the F-1 student must demonstrate to the DSO that the employment is necessary to avoid severe economic hardship resulting from the emergent circumstances, and the DSO must notate the student’s Form I-20 in accordance with the Federal Register notice.^[7]

Off-Campus Employment

An F-1 nonimmigrant student authorized by the student’s DSO to engage in off-campus employment must file a Form I-765 with USCIS and include a copy of a properly endorsed Form I-20 with the filing. An F-1 student must receive employment authorization from USCIS before engaging in off-campus employment.^[8]

To engage in off-campus employment more than 20 hours per week consistent with a designation of SSR, the F-1 student must demonstrate to the DSO that the employment is necessary to avoid severe economic hardship resulting from the emergent circumstances, and the DSO must notate the student’s Form I-20 in accordance with the Federal Register notice.^[9]

USCIS may only grant off-campus employment authorization due to severe economic hardship for up to 1 year,^[10] unless the Secretary of Homeland Security suspends the applicability of this requirement through publication of a Federal Register notice. If the 1-year limitation is suspended, USCIS may grant SSR employment authorization for the duration of the Federal Register notice validity period, but the period of authorization may not exceed the F-1 student’s academic program end date.

Existing Employment Authorization

If an F-1 student already has off-campus employment authorization, they may benefit from SSR without applying for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). To benefit from SSR in this context, the F-1 student must request that their DSO update the remarks field of the F-1 student’s Form I-20, in accordance with the Federal Register notice.

An F-1 student authorized by a DSO for on-campus employment does not need to apply for an EAD solely because of publication of a Federal Register notice if the F-1 student does not seek to engage in off-campus employment. If consistent with the Federal Register notice, the F-1 student may drop below what would otherwise be the minimum course load. In such a case, the F-1 student must request that the DSO update the remarks field of the F-1 student’s Form I-20, in accordance with the Federal Register notice.

Footnotes

[^ 1] See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v). See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(9).

[^ 2] See 63 FR 31872 (PDF) (June 10, 1998). For more information on special student relief (SSR), see the Special Student Relief DHS webpage.

[^ 3] See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(i).

[^ 4] See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(v).

[^ 5] As required under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(i)(E).

[^ 6] For more information regarding on-campus employment, including locations where it must be performed and application procedures, see 8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)(i).

[^ 7] See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)(i).

[^ 8] For general guidance on the adjudication of the Form I-765, see Volume 10, Employment Authorization, Part A, Employment Authorization Policies and Procedures, Chapter 4, Adjudication [10 USCIS-PM A.4].

[^ 9] See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)(ii).

[^ 10] See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)(ii)(D). Employment authorization is automatically terminated whenever the student fails to maintain status. See 8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)(ii)(F)(2).