Many employers in the United States prefer hiring international students in order to instil new ideas and fresh perspective in their organisations. The students also benefit from this program apart from the company hiring OPT students, because they are able to extend their network and build professional connections when they are working to start their careers in this country.

1. What Employers Need to Understand About Hiring OPT Students
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Many employers in the United States prefer hiring international students in order to instil new
ideas and fresh perspective in their organisations. The students also benefit from this
program apart from the company hiring OPT students, because they are able to extend
their network and build professional connections when they are working to start their careers
in this country. If you are an employer looking to hire international students in your
organisation you need to bear in mind your responsibilities. You need to understand the
implications in the area of immigration also. Let us look at the different things you need to
bear in mind as an employer of international students under the OPT program.
Overview of the OPT program
International students who are neither citizens nor permanent residents in the United States,
hold either F1 or J1 visas, and the majority of them hold the F1 visa, due to which we will
look at the matter from the method of hiring F1 students. Here employers and candidates
both need to bear in mind that a Social Security Number is not enough to get a work permit.
Hence they should ensure that the candidate has completed the I-1 procedure before they
hire OPT students.
Internship

2. How to hire F1 students for internships
Curricular practical training
This program allows the OPT students in USA to accept practical training after completing
one year of full time studies in their chosen field. Internships are the most common type of
employment that CPT students get. The work under this program can be full-time or part-
time depending on the policies of the educational institute. Sometimes, students studying for
graduate degrees don’t need to complete one full year of studies before participating in an
internship.
Duration – Usually there is no limit but one year of full time CPT does not allow the
participants to opt for the OPT program which is another program meant for F1 students to
work in this country. However, students who work part-time under the CPT program can opt
for OPT employment.
Role in employment – If a student wants to opt for CPT then they are solely responsible for
applying for the same and the employers have no role to play in this process. The employer
simply has to issue an appointment letter confirming the internship.
Role of the students – Once the students are offered an internship they should submit an
online application to their educational institute, with information regarding the start and end
dates of the internship and the name and complete address of the employers. The student
also needs to provide the title that they will be working under and description of the job. The
international students services office facilitates this process. According to the immigration
rules of the USA, students participating part-time in the employment, should still be full time
students in the educational organisation except during the official vacation periods.
Cost and time taken – The employers do not have to bear any costs and usually the time of
processing and approval takes around 5 – 10 working days.
How to hire F1 students for full time work
Post and pre-completion OPT – The optional practical training or OPT program can be
applied for by opt students in usa either after completing one year of studies or after
attaining the graduation degree in a chosen subject. This program allows the students to
gain experience in their subject they are majoring in. the duration of this program is for one
year of practical training. But if they have worked under OPT during their second year of
study then the time period will be deducted from the stipulated 12 months.
Role of employer – The process of applying for OPT is completely the students’
responsibility and the company hiring OPT students, simply has to issue an appointment
letter to the students. The students can get an OPT status even if they don’t have an
employment in hand.
Role of students – In the two step process of obtaining OPT work permit, the students have
to first submit a request for the same, this request is processed and approved by the
international students’ advisor who is normally present in the educational institute. In the
second step the student has to submit the completed application for OPT with the supporting
documents and the fees required to the USCIS so that the OPT work authorisation can be
granted to them. Once the application is approved the student will receive EAD or
employment authorisation document which is a proof for work authorisation for a period of
one year.

3. Cost and time required –The students have to pay a stipulated fee, but there is no cost to the
employers. The USCIS usually takes an average of 60 days to process the application, but
during the peak OPT season starting in February, the time take can extend up to 3-4
months. This is why the students are advised to apply at least 90 days before completing
their graduation and they should have an EAD card in order to begin employment.
How to hire STEM graduates
Post-completion Optional Practical training is a program that allows foreign students
graduating from an accredited university or college to work in the United States.
Duration – Two years for STEM graduates.
Role of employer
 The employers who hire OPT students should be enrolled in and be in the good
books of E-Verify.
 They should prepare and apply a formal training program which supports the
academic pursuit of the students with the help of practical experience. The training
program is approved by the student and submitted to the international student
services office for approval. The office is also provided the report of the students’
progress after one and two years of the students’ temporary employment.
 Provide a report of termination to the international students’ services office within 5
working days.
 The government also sends their own agent for an on site visit to ensure the proper
working of the program.
 The company should provide an opportunity similar to US citizens to the international
students and should attest that they have enough resources to properly train the
students. The student should not replace a fulltime or part time US worker and help
the student to achieve their training objective.
Role of the student
As part of their STEM OPT request, the student submits the completed I-983 training plan to
the international student services office, which then processes the STEM OPT
recommendation. The F-1 student submits the completed OPT application, supporting
paperwork, and appropriate money to USCIS. Once authorized, USCIS issues an
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card as proof of work authorization for 24
months.
Cost and processing time
There is no charge to the company hiring OPT students. The international student services
office will process the student's STEM OPT recommendation within a few working days.
USCIS processing time for STEM OPT ranges from 3 to 4 months on average, with some
instances reaching 5 to 6 months. The STEM OPT Extension must be filed before the initial
OPT period ends. If students submit their STEM OPT extension petitions on time and their
OPT period expires while the extension application is underway, their work permission is
automatically extended for 180 days.
More information
Employers who want to hire OPT students under the J-1 status, do not have to pay any fees
or take any action. The J-1 student merely obtains authorization from his or her program
sponsor to work for up to 18 months. PhD students can work for a maximum of 36 months. It

4. is the student's exclusive duty to finish the application procedure with the program sponsor,
and approval is often granted within 5-10 business days. The work must be directly related
to the academic degree program and approved by the academic institution's J-1 responsible
officer.
TN1 status – This is meant for Canadian or Mexican citizens who can work in the areas
enlisted in the TN employment list. This status has a validity of 3 years after which the
employee should apply for an extension through their employer. This is a variation of the
program for F1 students specially meant for Canadian and Mexican students.
Conclusion
As you know as an employer that there are many benefits of hiring international students.
This is the reason that many employers opt for these OPT and CPT students in their
organisation. There are many career portals like OPTnation which the employers looking for
these international students can refer. These portals publish curated resumes of the CPT
and OPT candidates which in turn help the employers to choose the candidates they want to
interview. The candidates and employers both can be certain to find a good cultural fit for
themselves. This is apart from the salary and other compensation that the candidates
receive on becoming employees and also the skills and talents that the employers require
from the candidates.
The government also prefers to provide a H1 B visa to the students who have earlier worked
in the capacity of an OPT candidate, once their tenure under the program is completed. As
you know it is becoming difficult to hire foreign nationals under the F1 visa for the employers.
Hence the OPT and CPT programs are an excellent choice for them to attain their required
employees and employment.
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