Hiring International Students

CPT applicants MUST receive the CPT-authorized Form I-20 (visa document) before they start working. CPT-authorized I-20 is given to CPT applicants who complete all the CPT application process. 

As the processing time takes anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks, student interns and employers must plan accordingly before deciding the internship start date.

F-1 visa holders who start working without CPT I-20 will be considered out of status for engaging in unauthorized employment which leaves their I-20s in jeopardy of being terminated. 

International students can be authorized for either full-time CPT or part-time CPT.  

However, if a student is working a CPT authorized position while classes are in session, the student is not permitted to work over 20 hours per week. With this, students working CPT-authorized positions while classes are in session can only work part-time.

CPT participants who work while classes are not in session, are eligible to work full-time, with a maximum of 40 hours per week permitted. *Please not that SUNY regulates full-time as 29 hours per week. 

It is worth noting that engaging in full-time CPT for 12 months would make the student ineligible for applying for post-graduation OPT. Therefore, before the employer hires the student intern for 1 year full-time, please communicate with the student to see if they are interested in applying for OPT. To learn more about OPT, please click here. 

Yes! At SUNY Oswego, in order for an international student to be eligible for CPT, this student must have completed at least one full academic year of courses AND have at least a junior class status.

Since CPT participation is tied to an academic course per immigration regulations, students can only engage in the internship for each semester/annual break. Specifically, the CPT-authorized start and end date can be found on CPT-authorized Form I-20 (visa document).

Therefore, employers may want to require a CPT-authorized I-20 before starting the internship to confirm the internship start and end date that meets the federal regulation. 

To learn what to keep in mind when hiring the student again in the future, please refer to the "We would like to hire the student for another semester, is there any step that we need to take?" under the Employer & Student Responsibilities for CPT.

At SUNY Oswego, the current CPT authorization process can take students anywhere from 2-4 weeks as they need to...

• work with the ISSS office to ensure that CPT applicants are compliance with federal regulation
• work with the EXCEL office to ensure that CPT applicants meet the institutional internship requirement
• work with academic advisors to confirm the internship is directly related to their majors/programs per immigration regulations. 

Employers are encouraged to complete the site verification form at their earliest convenience so students can move on to the next step.

In this light, international students may not be able to begin working right away - students and employers are encouraged to take the processing time into consideration and plan ahead. 

After the student has been officially offered an internship, it is the student’s responsibility to complete the SUNY Oswego CPT Application process.

When completing this process, the student will need to work with employers to provide relevant information such as the start and end dates of work, the organization’s name, the complete physical address of where work will take place, as well as supervisor contact information.

The student is responsible for reaching out to appropriate parties to be educated about the CPT authorization process and required information.

Once the CPT is authorized, it is the student's responsibility to notify the ISSS and EXCEL if there are any changes to the internship including early termination. 

As the employer of a SUNY Oswego CPT participant, you will be required to provide information relevant to the student’s work on a Site Verification Form. 

Please note, that it is the student’s responsibility to work with SUNY Oswego staff to provide you with this form when applicable. 

Also, it should be in the employer's best interest to confirm that the student received the "CPT-authorized I-20" before starting the internship to meet the federal requirement. To learn more about the internship start date, please refer to "When can the student intern start working?" under CPT Rules and Regulations.  

Additionally, the supervisor of the student must complete the online evaluation form regularly which is required to report the student's participation. Once the student is authorized for CPT, the supervisor will receive emails from SUNY Oswego's EXCEL office.

No! There is no cost to the employer of a SUNY Oswego CPT participant.

All international students are authorized to work for their CPT work position only for the specific dates of employment listed on their CPT authorized Form I-20.

With this, students must go through the CPT authorization process again for future participation in the internship after their CPT end date.

If an employer wishes to hire an international student for an additional semester, the employer must ensure that:

1. The student is provided with sufficient time to work with the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office to complete to CPT authorization process again

2. The student must receive a new CPT authorized Form I-20 with appropriate start and end dates prior to continuing to work beyond the end date of their original CPT.

IMPORTANT: Students who work full-time CPT for a total of 12 months, are ineligible for OPT (Optional Practical Training) authorization for post-graduation work. To learn more about this regulation, please refer to CPT Rules and Regulations.

There are two conditions for OPT students to begin working:

1. They must have the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) on hand: When U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves the F-1 visa holder's OPT application, they mail out the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card which looks like a Driver's License. Students must have the EAD card; and
2. The "valid from date" on the EAD card must occur: OPT participants can start working on and after the valid from date on their EAD cards

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)'s processing times can be found on the Check Case Processing Times webpage. Usually, it takes 3~ 5 months for USCIS to review the international student's OPT application Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

The ISSS office advises students to apply for OPT as soon as they meet the eligibility. 

OPT participants are required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week and a maximum of 40 hours per week.

F-1 student visa holders who are OPT participants are eligible to work for a duration of 12 months from the program end date on Form I-20.

Specifically, OPT start (valid from date) and end date (card expires date) are noted on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card- Employers may require the EAD card to confirm the dates that international students can work for the employer. 

Please note that students who have graduated with an approved STEM Degree (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) will be provided with the option to apply to extend their OPT period for an additional 24 months from the initial OPT end date.

Since F-1 visa holders can apply for OPT work authorization before securing the position, students face sole responsibility for applying for OPT. With this, there is no action required from you, the employer or the hiring organization during the OPT application process.

That being said, it should be in the employer's best interest to review the EAD card to confirm the student's eligibility to start working through OPT per immigration regulations.

Additionally, employers would not want to hire any international student whose OPT application has been approved as federal regulation requires students to engage in employment that is directly related to the student's course of study ONLY.

IMPORTANT: Please note that once a student’s OPT application is approved they will be required to provide the following information to the SEVP portal to report the employment: 

• Explain how employment is related to the student's course of study
• Employer Name
• Job title
• Employment start date
• Employment end date
• Employment type (Full-time/ Part-time)
• Employer address

It is the student's responsibility to apply for OPT in a timely manner (within 60 days from the graduation date) and find employment that is directly related to their majors/programs within 90 days from the authorized OPT start date.

Also, OPT students must communicate with employers regarding the possible OPT start date (students get to choose their OPT start date when applying for OPT and USCIS determines the authorized OPT start date).  

In addition, it is worth noting that the OPT application of the student who decides to travel internationally while the OPT application is pending status will be automatically denied by USCIS. 

No! Please note that employing an OPT participant comes at NO COST to an employer or organization.

Similarly, employers are not required to sponsor OPT-approved students as they are authorized by USCIS to engage in full-time employment after graduation unless employers are willing to provide the employment-based sponsorship to the student.

Please note that all OPT applicants are NOT eligible to begin working until they receive their physical EAD card. Working without an EAD Card is considered unauthorized employment and can result in the termination of a student’s OPT work authorization.

As an employer, the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office highly recommends that you ensure your employee has their EAD in their possession AND the "valid from date" on the EAD card has occurred. 

No. OPT participants are eligible to change employers throughout the duration of their 12-month working period as long as...

• the position is directly related to the course of study; and
• the position requires the student to work for at least 20 hours per week.

However, OPT participants must be mindful to ensure that they are updating their SEVP Portal within 10 days of any employment changes.

Yes! OPT participants are eligible to work for more than one organization simultaneously as long as... 

• the position is directly related to the course of study; and
• the position requires the student to work for at least 20 hours per week.

However, it is the OPT participant’s responsibility to update their SEVP portal with any changes to their employment.

In addition, the OPT participant must be sure to work a minimum of 20 hours per week for each position and a maximum of 40 hours per week between the two job positions combined.

In other words, the OPT participant is not eligible to work two job positions if this would result in working over 40 hours per week in total. 

When an OPT Participant’s authorized work period is nearing completion. They are provided with the following options:

• If the OPT Participant earned a degree in an eligible STEM field, they may apply for a 24-month STEM OPT extension

In order for the OPT participant to apply for STEM OPT, the employer must be an e-verified employer. 

Should an employer decide to, they may sponsor an OPT participant for a work visa. Please note that the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office does offer legal advice on this topic and would recommend reaching out to an immigration attorney/ HR team within the organization.

Employees (students) are eligible to apply for STEM OPT only if they meet ALL of the following requirements:

• The employer must be E-verified through USCIS’ E-Verify employment eligibility verification program.

• The employee is an F-1 visa holder who is currently in a period of OPT (Optional Practical Training)

• IMPORTANT: Please note that students are not eligible to apply for STEM OPT extensions after the OPT end date. 

• To qualify for the STEM OPT extension, the student must hold a qualifying  degree in an eligible STEM field 

• To see if your employee earned a STEM field qualifying degree, ensure that the CIP Code indicating their Major of Study on their Form I-20 is listed on the STEM Designated Degree Program list.

STEM OPT participants are required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week.

STEM-eligible students can apply for STEM OPT as early as 90 days before the end of their current OPT period. With this, the ISSS Office highly advises STEM OPT applicants to reach out to isss@oswego.edu 95 days prior to the end of their OPT period with the Form I-983 Training plan.

Once the student completes their I-983 Training Plan, they must email this document to isss@oswego.edu for review.

The ISSS Office will take 2-4 business days to review these documents and process any eligible student’s STEM OPT recommendation. *IMPORTANT: STEM OPT applicants must receive STEM OPT-recommended I-20 before submitting the application.

From there, the USCIS processing time for STEM OPT takes an average of up to 3-4 months, with some cases taking 5-6 months. *NOTE: STEM OPT applicants who successfully filed the STEM OPT application on time can continue to work for an additional 180 days while the application is pending. 

As an employer of a STEM OPT participant, you must ensure that the following requirements are met:

• Verify that you, the employer,  and/or your organization participate in USCIS’ E-Verify employment eligibility verification program.

• You, the employer, must work with your OPT participant to complete an I-983 Training Plan 

• STEM OPT employers are responsible for completing Section 3 to Section 6 on the Form I-983.

• These sections request specific information about the company and the agreed-upon practical training schedule and compensation, as well as the formal training plan, respectively. For more information about how to properly complete the form, visit our page for Employers and the Form I-983.

• The STEM OPT employer must review the student’s annual self-evaluation (Form I-983) on their own progress and sign it to attest to its accuracy.

• The student must submit their first assessment within 12 months of the STEM OPT Start Date

• The student must submit a second, final assessment that recaps their training and knowledge acquired during the complete training period

• The student must submit the 12-month and final evaluations no later than 10 days following the conclusion of the applicable reporting period.

• The employer’s Official with Signature Authority from Form I-983 must sign and enter the date of the signature to show concurrence with the assessment information that the student entered. Once signed, the employer must return the evaluation to the student, who will provide it to their DSO for recordkeeping.

• As an employer, you,  must work with the student to ensure that any changes to the I-983 Form are reported to the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office

• These changes include:

• Any change of Employer Identification Number resulting from a corporate restructuring.

• Any reduction in student compensation that is not tied to a reduction in hours worked.

• Any significant decrease in hours per week that a student engages in a STEM training opportunity.

• Changes to the employer’s commitments or student’s learning objectives as documented on the Form I-983.

• The employer and student must inform the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office if the STEM OPT participant faces termination for any reason before the end of the authorization extension period

• This must be reported no later than five business days after the STEM OPT participants terminate or departure from their position

For more information related to these topics, employers are encouraged to review the Study in the States resource for Employers: STEM OPT Reporting Requirements or USCIS's STEM OPT Employer Requirements and Responsibilities.

All STEM OPT applicants and/or participants must ensure that the following requirements are met:

• The student confirms their eligibility for STEM OPT

• The student confirms that the employer is enrolled in the E-Verify program and complete an I-983 Training Plan.

• The student must submit their completed I-983 Training Plan to the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office

• If eligible, this will trigger the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office to process the students STEM OPT recommendation for the student

• The SUNY Oswego ISSS Office will then issue the student a STEM OPT recommended Form I-20

• The student will then be responsible for completing the STEM OPT online application for USCIS *IMPORTANT: The student must submit the STEM OPT-recommended Form I-20 as a part of the application and file the application within 60 days from the STEM OPT-recommended date. 

• Once approved, USCIS issues an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card as proof of work authorization for the 24-month period.

No! Please note that employing a STEM OPT participant comes at NO COST to an employer or organization.

Yes. STEM OPT participants can change employers during their STEM OPT Extension Period. HOWEVER, the STEM OPT Participant and their new employer must complete an updated I-983 Training Plan. The STEM OPT application must notify the ISSS Office AND update their SEVP portal of any changes in their employment within 10 days of any changes.

STEM OPT applicants who successfully filed the STEM OPT application on time can continue to work for an additional 180 days while the application is pending. 

STEM OPT applicants whose STEM OPT application is still in pending after 180 days must stop working and reach out to USCIS. 

When a STEM OPT Participant’s authorized work period is nearing completion. They are provided with the following options:

1. Upon completion of their STEM OPT work authorization period, the STEM OPT Participant may pursue a higher educational degree in the United States

• Those who wish to pursue a higher educational degree at a new university must work with the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office to ensure that their SEVIS records are transferred accordingly

2. Leave the United States within 60 days of the expiration date on the EAD Card

• There is a 60-day grace period following the end of the STEM OPT period. The grace period is only applicable for those who have not exceeded the 150 days of unemployment throughout the combined duration of their OPT and STEM OPT periods

3. STEM OPT Participants nearing completion of their STEM OPT program have the option to change their immigration status

• Should an employer decide to, they may sponsors a STEM OPT participant for a work visa
• Please note that the SUNY Oswego ISSS Office does offer legal advice on this topic and would recommend reaching out to an immigration attorney