Calling all international students studying in the United States! With the frenzy of internship season upon us, we wanted to check in and make sure you have a helping hand in the wild process of applying for employment authorization!

We get it — balancing new classes, new friendships, and a crazy job market is difficult. But, we are here to help take some of that weight off of your shoulders by guiding you through student work authorizations.

The legal jargon can be hard to navigate, and we want to simplify it for you.

Are you confused about the difference between Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT)? Curious about eligibility and want to have an attorney review your application? We are here to answer your questions and provide an easy pathway through work authorization so that you can focus on all of the other exciting aspects of your life. You may find yourself staring at a form, waiting for it to magically fill itself out. Totally understandable, this is all very overwhelming. This is where we step in. Formally will provide you with an easy template to approach work authorization as an F-1 Visa holder.

First things first, let’s get some definitions straight. Big words are often thrown around in the forms you will be filling out, and we don’t blame you for being confused.

You may be eligible for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) if:

1)Your internship is essential to your major and is part of your program of study,

2) You have already secured a training opportunity,

3) available for those choosing to work either part-time or full time, and

4) may begin only after the CPT is authorized. For CPT, a school official may grant you work authorization.

Optional Practical Training (OPT), on the other hand, may be right for you if:

1) relates to your field of study but is not necessarily within the school’s established curriculum,

2) will be less than 20 hours per week while school is in session

3) employment is not yet secured,

4) will occur before or after school begins or ends.

Because OPT is authorized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and not your school itself, we can help bridge the gap between filling out forms and attorney review!

So, in a nutshell, CPT is more complex — it requires the training opportunity to comply with both federal regulations and school policies on experiential learning. Since we can’t grant CPT and are not yet working with academic institutions, as of now we can only help you with OPT.

Next, let’s look at the two types of applications we can lend our expertise to. Within the category of OPT, there are some decisions to make about the kind of application you submit — either a pre-completion OPT or post-completion OPT. These titles are what they sound like; you are eligible for a pre-completion application if you have been enrolled full-time for one academic year at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certified institutions, and eligible for post-completion OPT if your training will begin after completing your studies. However — there is one caveat. If you have already participated in pre-completion OPT, USCIS will deduct the amount of time you worked as an undergraduate from the amount of time you are eligible to work on a post-completion OPT. The maximum amount combined is 12 months, so if you worked for 7 months during your pre-completion OPT period, you may only be eligible for 5 months of post-completion OPT.

Stay tuned for tips and tricks on how to file your OPT application!