International Students and Scholars Office

On-Campus Employment

It is your responsibility to research and understand your on-campus work eligibility. It is generally not the job of CPP staff outside of the International Students and Scholars Office to thoroughly know the immigration regulations. It is possible you will be offered employment that you are not eligible to accept or for your employment eligibility to expire without your payroll coordinator notifying you.

Be sure to review all information provided by the International Students and Scholars Office, and consult with your International Student Advisor if you have any concerns or questions.

Your F-1 student status permits you to work on campus at the university that issued your I-20 while you are enrolled full time. Your I-20 is your proof of eligibility to work on campus. Pre-approval from the ISSO is not required for on-campus employment. However, F-1 students need to acquire a Social Security Number prior to beginning work.

You must maintain F-1 status to be eligible for this employment benefit; maintaining status means that you are a full-time registered student (except for approved exceptions) in good academic standing with a valid I-20

  • Employment for CPP
    • Examples: teaching assistant, research assistant, library student worker, etc
  • Work performed in a campus location for a commercial firm providing direct services to students
    • Example: Panda Express, Carl’s Jr., Subway, etc.
  • Employment at an off-campus location which is educationally affiliated with CPP
    • The educational affiliation must be associated with your academic department’s established curriculum or related to contractually funded projects at the post-graduate level and be an integral part of your educational program.

If you are not sure whether the employment opportunity would meet the definition of “on-campus” employment, please consult with your International Student Advisor before accepting the offer.

  • Part-time (20 hours per week or less) during Spring and Fall semesters.
  • Full-time (more than 20 hours per week) during breaks (e.g. Summer and Winter breaks).

Your on-campus employment eligibility ends:

  • When you graduate. It expires the last day of your final semester even if your I-20 expiration date is in the future.
  • If you transfer to another university; your work authorization expires on the day your SEVIS record is released to your new university.
  • If you violate your F-1 status.

CPP has several resources to help you find a job.

You need a Social Security Number to be able to get paid.

The International Students and Scholars Office is unable to provide tax related advising. See "U.S. Taxes" for more information. 

You can also review the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publications for details about employment taxes payable on the earnings of a nonresident aliens.

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