News

7/26/12: Fall 2012 Off-Campus Employment Authorization Eligibility and Deadlines

Jul. 26, 2012

1 – ELIGIBILITY FOR OFF-CAMPUS INTERNSHIPS OR EMPLOYMENT

 

2 – STEPS FOR GETTING CPT AUTHORIZATION

 

3 – FALL INTERNSHIP DEADLINES

1- ELIGIBILITY FOR OFF-CAMPUS INTERNSHIPS OR EMPLOYMENT

For those of you who are thinking about pursuing an internship or other type of work experience off-campus during the Fall 2012 semester, please first see our detailed materials on employment, and the different types of authorization needed, that is available on the ISSO website: 

http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/isso/current/employment/index.html

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY INTERNSHIP OR WORK EXPERIENCE OFF CAMPUS, PAID OR UNPAID, NEEDS EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION BEFORE YOU BEGIN.

Important links:

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for F-1 students: Please read http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/isso/current/employment/cpt/index.html.  All the information you need to know is contained at this link.

Sample CPT offer letter: http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/isso/current/employment/cpt/sample_cpt_offer_letter1.pdf. You need to have an offer letter signed by your employer and on company letterhead for CPT.  Employers do not necessarily know what information to include in an offer letter.  To save you and your employer time, show them our sample offer letter so that they know what information needs to be included.

Academic Advisor's Recommendation Form: http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/isso/current/employment/cpt/cpt_advisor_rec.pdf (You need to have someone sign the academic advisor's recommendation for CPT.)

Academic Training (AT) for J-1 Students:   J-1 Academic Training has different variables depending on your program sponsor, so it is best to review the AT

information on our web site for clarification: http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/isso/current/employment/at/index.html.  Feel free to email ISSO as questions arise.   If you are not on J-1 status sponsored by Brandeis University (Brandeis did not issue you the Form DS-2019), then you should contact your J-1 visa sponsor (for example, Fulbright) as soon as possible to confirm eligibility and application procedures.


2 – STEPS FOR GETTING F-1 CPT or J-1 ACADEMIC TRAINING AUTHORIZATION

Remember that in order to be eligible for F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or J-1 Academic Training (AT) authorization, there are 4 steps that must be accomplished before the ISSO can begin the authorization process:

a) You must complete the ISSO Check-In online (and send us photocopies of your documents) upon arrival for the fall semester so that the SEVIS registration hold will be removed (we will be sending a separate ISSOnews for more information on the ISSO Check-In Process).

b) You must be registered full-time for courses for the Fall semester (12 credit hours) so that you can be registered in SEVIS for the Fall Semester.

c) You must register for the course that requires the internship, if applicable (for CPT), and provide all required documents needed for the employment authorization. Please also consult the requirements set forth for the internship course (number of required hours, deadlines, etc.).

d) When you submit your materials to the ISSO for the work authorization, you must bring in your original passport with I-94 card, and most current I-20 / DS-2019.

3 – FALL INTERNSHIP DEADLINES

As stated in our employment information on our web site, the ISSO requires at least a TEN-DAY lead time to process authorizations. 

If you can provide to the ISSO a complete offer letter and advisor's recommendation form and register for the course by AUGUST 20th,  we can issue you the CPT I-20 or DS-2019 for Academic Training authorization with a start date as early as August 30th, the first day of classes of the fall semester.  You will also need to complete the Fall SEVIS check-in.

If you obtain an internship offer letter AFTER AUGUST 17th, the earliest start date for your internship would be Monday, September 10th. 

The internship authorization for the Fall semester must end no later than December 21, 2012, the last day of exams for the fall semester, unless otherwise specified by your program.