F-1 Hardship Employment

Immigration regulations allow an F-1 student who experiences unforeseen financial problems while studying in the U.S. to obtain off campus employment permission under certain conditions. This handout discusses the requirements and limitations of F-1 economic hardship employment authorization. This off campus employment permission may provide real help in difficult circumstances by allowing a student to supplement his or her income enough to meet some living expenses. Economic hardship employment authorization will not, however, enable a student to earn enough to bear the cost of the full time course of study required to maintain F student status. It should not be thought of, then, as a solution for serious financial difficulties.

Eligibility

If you are an F-1 student who is experiencing economic hardship due to an unforeseen change in your financial situation, you may qualify for off campus employment authorization under relevant immigration regulations. (You must, of course, be a full time student in valid F-1 status to qualify for this, as for any other benefit of F status.) If employment authorization is granted you will be able to work off campus for up to 20 hours per week while school is in session and full time during vacation periods. Economic hardship employment authorization which allows you to work in any job, related or not related to your studies will be granted for one year or for the remainder of your academic program, whichever period is less.

When considering your eligibility for hardship employment authorization the most important point to keep in mind is that for you to qualify an adverse change in your financial situation must have been unforeseen, or to be more accurate it must have been unforeseeable, when you first came to the U.S. to study. Immigration regulations provide that the unforeseen circumstances "may include loss of financial aid or on campus employment without fault on the part of the student, substantial fluctuations in the value of currency or exchange rate, inordinate increases in tuition and/or living costs, unexpected changes in the financial conditions of the student's source of support, medical bills, or other substantial and unexpected expenses. "Only unforeseen problems can be the basis for hardship employment authorization because, as you will recall from the process of obtaining your I-20 and visa to enter the U.S., students must first demonstrate that all of the financial resources needed for their program of study are available before they are able to obtain F-1 status.

If you believe that your circumstances may qualify you for hardship employment authorization, please meet with an UCIE advisor. If it appears that you are eligible for hardship employment authorization, the advisor will ask you to (1) write a letter in which you describe in some detail the circumstances that support your request for hardship employment authorization, and (2) ask you to provide documentation confirming these circumstances (for example, a letter from your department to document the loss of a scholarship, or exchange rate data showing a currency devaluation, or a letter from an accountant confirming unexpected business losses). When the need for hardship employment authorization is well documented the UCIE advisor will help you prepare an employment authorization application to be submitted to the Citizenship and Naturalization Service (CIS).

Employment Authorization Application

For your employment authorization application you will need to present to UCIE:

your letter and supporting documentation, as described above
completed INS FormI-765 (available from UCIE);  write "(c)(3)(iii)" in item 16 of Form I-765 and use an address on Form I-765 where you can receive mail over the next  three or four months)
two identical color photographs, in three-quarter right front profile, with your right ear showing (To insure the proper pose, look 45º to the left of the camera.)

The photographs must have a white background, be taken less than 30 day sago, be unmounted, printed on thin, glossy paper and be unretouched; Immigration Service regulations also require that you not wear jewelry in the photograph and that your head be uncovered unless you wear a headdress for religious reasons; the photographs should not be larger than 1½ X 1½ inches and the distance from the top of the head to just below the chin should be approximately 1¼ inches.

(WSU-Media Services Photo Office (phone 775-3388) is familiar with the photo requirements; tell them or another photographer that you need photographs for an Employment Authorization Document or "Green Card style "photographs.)

You should print your name lightly in pencil on the back of the two photographs (include the number on your previous EAD if you have one from an earlier period of optional practical training).

a personal check or money order for $120 payable to "INS" (A personal check is preferable because, if necessary, you will be able to determine if it has been cashed.)
a photocopy for the front and back of your I-20 Form
a photocopy of the front and back of your I-94 card (white card, usually stapled in your passport)
a photocopy of your passport information page (and the page including your photograph, if different)
a photocopy of the visa page in your passport (except Canadian citizens, who have no visa)
if you have had a previous period of employment authorized by INS, a photocopy of your previous Employment Authorization Document (photo ID card)

Your application will then be submitted by mail to the regional office of the Citizenship and  Immigration Service in Nebraska for CIS consideration. CIS will first mail a receipt to you, to the address you wrote on your Form I-765, and will later mail notice of the CIS decision to you at this address. If CIS approves your application they will send you an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) as evidence of your permission to be employed. Please note that INS processing usually takes 30 to 60 days and may take up to 90 days. You may not begin employment before you receive an EAD from INS; working before receipt of an EAD constitutes illegal employment that renders you illegally present in the U.S.

Social Security Numbers

Before you begin work you will need a valid Social Security number (your WSU ID is not a valid Social Security Number). If you do not already have one, please obtain application instructions and directions to the Social Security Office from UCIE. The Social Security Administration will process your application and a number will be sent to you in about one month.

Taxes

In general, F-1 students who have been in the U.S. in less than six calendar years are exempt from social security (FICA) and Medicare taxes. You should be sure to bring this to the attention of your employer because many employers are not familiar with this provision of the tax laws. If you need more information about the F-1 social security and Medicare tax exemption, please contact UCIE.

Students in F-1 status are subject to all other taxes that may apply: federal, state and local (but check with UCIE to see if your country is one of the few that has a tax treaty with the U.S. allowing students to exclude a limited amount of earned income from federal taxation).