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Employer Resources

Why Hire International Students?

In an increasingly global workforce, international students bring valuable perspectives and insights to your company. International students are often highly skilled workers in their home country who have come to the U.S. to further their professional and personal goals.

Concerned about navigating the immigration system? Hiring international students is not as complicated as you might think. Most UT Dallas international students are on F-1 or J-1 visas, meaning that the university sponsors their stay in the U.S. while they are receiving education and training. F-1 students are eligible to work off-campus under Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT). J-1 exchange visitors can work off-campus with Academic Training.

Employer sponsorship is not required to hire an international student on CPT, OPT, or Academic Training. The student’s immigration record is maintained by the university, not the employer.

The University Career Center has great resources for employers looking to connect with UT Dallas and our international students.

CPT

Curricular Practical Training allows F-1 students to participate in an internship or co-op experience while they pursue their degree. Work authorization is granted by the university, and it can take up to two weeks for CPT approval. UT Dallas is committed to ensuring all of our F-1 students have thorough documentation of the CPT employment, for future immigration applications, and all CPT requests go through a multi-stage approval process involving immigration advisors, academic advisors, and career advisors.

OPT

F-1 students can participate in Optional Practical Training. Most commonly, students participate in a type of OPT called Post-Completion OPT, used for employment after graduating from a degree program. Post-Completion OPT can last up to 12 months. During Post-Completion OPT, the student’s employment must be directly related to their most recent degree and must be full-time. For immigration purposes, “full-time” employment is considered “more than 20 hours per week.”

OPT work authorization is granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). While processing times can vary, it commonly takes three months or longer for an F-1 student to receive their Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card. The student must receive the EAD card, and the start date must arrive, before they can begin working.

Student wearing a temoc shirt works on a laptop on campus.
Aerial view of trees and students walking on UTD campus.

STEM OPT

F-1 students in certain STEM majors are eligible for a 24-month extension of Post-Completion OPT, allowing for a total of three years of employment. While STEM OPT does not require employer sponsorship, the employer does have some training obligations.

There are more reporting requirements for F-1 students on STEM OPT, some of which require employer cooperation. We encourage employers to carefully review the information provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Employers may contact the ISSO at ISSOCurrent@utdallas.edu with any questions about STEM OPT requirements.

The U.S. government has also provided helpful resources for employers on their STEM OPT Hub. We recommend that employers review these resources as they address many questions that employers may have about reporting requirements under the STEM OPT regulations.

Employment Requirements

  • Employer must be enrolled in E-Verify
  • F-1 students may not volunteer for an employer during the STEM OPT extension
  • Employment must be full-time (more than 20 hours per week on average)
  • The employment must be compensated.
  • The employment must include a legitimate employer-employee relationship. Staffing and temporary agencies may seek to employ students under the STEM OPT program, but only if they will be the entity that provides the practical training experience to the student at its own place of business and they have a bona fide employer-employee relationship with the student. For detailed information visit USCIS.
  • The employment must be directly related to the STEM degree that the work authorization was based upon.
  • A student is allowed to work for multiple employers while on a period of STEM OPT. However, each employment must meet all of the student and employer requirements outlined above.

Working while STEM OPT Application Pending

Students who have timely filed for the STEM OPT extension, and whose EAD has expired, are automatically granted an extension of work authorization for up to 180 days while the STEM OPT application is pending, under federal regulations 8 CFR 214.2(f)(11)(i)(C) and 8 CFR 247a.12(c)(6)(iv).

Some employers require the I-797C Receipt Notice, as proof that the student timely filed the STEM OPT application. The regulations do not reference the I-797C Receipt Notice. They only indicate that the application must be “timely filed.” While it is the employer’s decision on what documents to request, they may find the USCIS I-9 documentation resources useful when deciding what documents to require.

Form I-983

While on STEM OPT, the F-1 student and employer will maintain an I-983 Training Plan document. Employers will need to assist students with completing the Form I-983. The student should complete page 1 of the form. The remainder of the form should be completed by the student and employer together. Sections 1 – 6 of the form must be completed and signed by the student and employer before the student submits a request for a STEM OPT I-20. Homeland Security has provided specific instructions for employers on completing this form.

If there are any changes to a student’s employment, the student and employer must complete a Form I-983 and the student must submit it to the ISSO within 10 days of those changes. Changes in the plan can include (but are not limited to):

  • Any change of Employer Identification Number resulting from a corporate restructuring.
  • Any reduction in compensation from the amount previously submitted on the Form I‐983, “Training Plan for STEM OPT Students,” 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.

Please review the Form I-983 Instructional Video for additional assistance.

Student tutoring on campus.

Student Evaluations

F-1 students on STEM OPT must report to their university every six months. These regular reports are known as “validation reports”, where the school verifies the student’s employment information and personal address. For the 12-month and 24-month validation report, the student must also complete the Student Evaluation on the last page of the I-983, and both the student and employer must sign the evaluation.

Special Employment Circumstances

The STEM OPT regulations limit the types of employment that students can participate in during the STEM OPT extension.

Students who work for a start-up company may be eligible for the STEM OPT extension if there is another individual who can sign Form I-983 as the employer and establish a bona fide employer/employee relationship.

Students who work for a consulting firm or staffing agency should discuss their situation and eligibility with their employer to determine if a true employer/employee relationship exists in which the employer signing the training plan is also the employer that provides the practical training experience.

Student Privacy and Disclosing Information to Employers

Please note that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) limits what information the ISSO can disclose to employers. The ISSO can provide general information on the STEM OPT extension, but cannot provide information to an employer that is specific to that student. We are happy to discuss general STEM OPT requirements with employers. Employers may contact the ISSO at ISSOCurrent@utdallas.edu with any questions about employing F-1 students.