IEFA Blog

Today’s post covers Optional Practical Training (OPT), a category of off-campus employment allowed for F1 students in the US. This post is part of our series covering employment rules for international students in English-speaking countries. You can see earlier posts in the series here: Off-Campus Employment Now Permitted in CanadaOn-Campus Employment in the USOff-Campus Employment…

Following our post explaining the rules for F1 students working on-campus, the next four posts will address the four general categories of off-campus employment opportunities for F1 students. As a general rule, off-campus employment is regulated more strictly, and employment requires prior authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Off-Campus Employment. International…

Most international students in the United States hold an F1 visa, which is the US non-immigrant student visa. F1 students are allowed to work in the United States, but only under certain conditions and in accordance with complex guidelines and restrictions issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Generally, all employment is…

International students cannot and should not rely on employment during school as a primary funding source for their education. For one thing, you typically cannot use future employment income to meet the financial requirements of your visa. In addition, students cannot earn enough to fund their education solely or primarily through work. However, there are…

Today there are 2 scholarships that I’d like to draw attention to, both for students from particular countries, and a quick update on the Saudi scholarships. First, the Karim Rida Said Foundation provides full and partial scholarships for Master’s degree study in the UK to Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian students. You must have…

After our short series on evaluating school program costs, budgeting and opening a US bank account, I thought this article from the Jacksonville Times-Union online was very interesting and timely. The point — everyone knows that college tuition has been increasing rapidly, but recently there has been a significant rise in all other college-related costs….

Why Open a US Bank Account? A US bank account will make managing your finances a lot easier, and you should set one up as soon as you arrive. You can deposit your financial aid awards, loans and stipends, all of which are typically paid to you by check, as well as money from home….