Off-Campus Work

Practical Training

Curricular Practical Training

How to Apply for Curricular Practical Training

Optional Practical Training

How to Apply for Optional Practical Training

  After Optional Practical Training Approval

Travel During Optional Practical Training

Severe Economic Hardship

How to Apply for Severe Economic Hardship

Applying for a Social Security Number

If You Already Have a Social Security Number

You can look for an on-campus job by going to different departments to ask if they have a student help position available. Here are some departments that have hired international students and which you may want to try:

The Jibsheet (student newspaper); Bookstore; Cafeteria; Campus Operations; Early Learning, Family & Child Care Center; Computer Lab; Gym; Library Media Center; Printing Services; Student Programs; Academic Success Center.

If you are hired, you must submit an On-Campus Employment Authorization form (which will be completed by you and your supervisor), to the ISP office for work authorization before you begin to work. This On-Campus Employment Authorization form can be downloaded from this webiste, or is available at the ISP front desk. We ask that you please do this as soon as possible and allow us at least three working-days to complete the authorization. Once we complete this On-Campus Employment Authorization form, you need to submit its copy to your supervisor and bring the original with your passport and I-20 to the Social Security Administration office to apply for a Social Security card. Please see the section marked, How to Apply for a Social Security Number, on this page. You may work up to 19 hours per week (part-time) while school is in session; up to 40 hours per week (full-time) when school is on break or vacation. You can work in more than one department as long as you don’t exceed the maximum amount of hours per week.

Practical training is usually most applicable if you are pursuing a professional program. Occasionally, students pursuing a transfer degree maybe eligible, but it is not advisable for these students to use their practical training until they have completed a Baccalaureate or graduate degree. Please see the section marked Optional Practical Training for more information.

To apply for both types of practical training, you must make an appointment with Ms. Diem O'Rourke at the ISP office approximately three months in advance of your internship class or your graduation. Please know that we review your request for practical training completely based on whether or not you meet requirement of the Immigration regulations and BCC policies.

Curricular practical training is reviewed and authorized by our ISP office. The amount of time that we can authorize depends upon the work required to complete the course, so it varies by your program. Curricular practical training is usually part-time and is not subtracted from your one-year of full-time work upon your graduation, which is called "Optional Practical Training". However, if you engage in an aggregate of 12 months or more of full-time curricular practical training, you become ineligible for optional practical training, (8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i). There are very few instances when we can grant full-time curricular practical training, but again, it depends upon your class and degree requirements.

Generally, the reason for this is that you only receive one-year full-time practical training per each educational level. More often than not, transfer degree students do not have enough credits in a specified area of study for us to recommend to the Immigration office that they be granted a practical training in their field of study. In addition, students have a better chance of a higher position and pay after they complete a baccalaureate or graduate degree than if they have only completed an associate degree. However, your situation maybe an exception, please make an appointment with Diem O'Rourke in our ISP office to discuss your particular situation.

You are potentially eligible to apply for OPT if you meet the following criteria:

• You are on BCC Academic programs I-20;
  
  
• You have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis for one full academic year;
  
  
• You have maintained your F-1 status, (at least a full academic year);
  
  
• You have not exceeded 12 months of full-time Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization. (Part-time CPT does not affect OPT eligibility.);
  
  
• You will complete an Associate in Arts (AA) degree-Professional;
  or
  an Achievement (at least 45-credit) professional certificate program;
  or
  a combination of an Associate in Arts General Studies degree (AAGS) and an Achievement (at least 45-credit) professional certificate program;
  or
  a combination of an Associate in Arts and Sciences transfer degree (AAS) and an Achievement (at least 45-credit) professional certificate program;
  or
  a combination of two or more Accomplishment certificates in the same major program with the accumulative earned credits of these certificates equal to at least 45 credits;
  or
  after you finished your OPT in a certificate level (while on BCC I-20) and are now graduating with an AA professional degree program in the same or different major program with your previous certificate program;
  
  
• You are required to complete at least your last 15 credits for an Achievement (45-credit) professional certificate program OR your last 30 credits for an AA professional degree program at BCC.
  
  

• Call 425-564-3052 or email dorourke@bellevuecollege.edu to make an appointment to meet Diem O'Rourke, one quarter prior to your graduation. Be sure to apply for graduation on time! Please see the section marked Graduation on this page. There are important filing dates that you need to follow when you apply for your practical training. Usually, you can apply up to 90 days before your graduation date or up to 60 days after your graduation date. However, we strongly recommend you to apply for OPT before your program end date although recent OPT rule changes allow you to apply up to 60 days after your program end date. But please note that you cannot begin to work until you receive an approval, and applying after your graduation date might result in a loss of full eligibility (12 months) due to 3-4 month processing time. ISP will give you forms that you need to complete, and ISP will tell you by what date we need to file your request for practical training;
  
  
• Complete a CPT/OPT Request form---this is your formal file request;
  
  
• Complete the given forms and bring back to our office with all of your original I-20s, passports, a check of $340 (subject to change without notice from USCIS) for application fee, and Washington driver’s license or I.D. card;
  
  
• Once completed, we will mail the documents to USCIS on your behalf;
  
  
• Within one month after we mail your request, you should receive a letter from USCIS by mail called a Notice of Action. This notice confirms that USCIS received your request and tells you approximately the length of time it will take for USCIS to review. We will contact you as soon as we receive this notice. Please be sure to update your email, phone number, and mailing address with our ISP office within 10 days of your change. If you do not receive this letter within one month, please let our office know. In this case, it could mean that your request was lost in the mail or that USCIS didn’t process the request;
  
  
• Mark the approximate USCIS review date on your calendar and wait;
  
  
• If the approximate USCIS review date has passed and you still have not received any further correspondence from USCIS, please let our office know and we will help you find out the status of your request;
  
  

After we file your request with USCIS, we strongly recommend that you do not leave the U.S. to travel to Canada or another country. If you leave the country before receiving your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card, USCIS may consider that you have abandoned your request for practical training. You may lose the right to practical training and you can’t file again. In the worst case scenario, you may not be able to re-enter the U.S.

The good news is that you can travel anywhere in the U.S. after we file your request and before you receive your EAD card. Please see the section marked Travel During Optional Practical Training for more information.

If you don’t already have a resume prepared, you should create a resume. Please contact the Center for Career Connections to get more assistance. You should begin to look for employment in your field of study, but you can’t begin to work until you receive your EAD card which shows the date you can begin working. You can tell a potential employer that you have filed for your practical training request and that you are waiting for a response from USCIS. Employment must be related to your field of study! (Please see the After OPT Approval section for more details.)

Normally, it takes approximately 80-90 days to receive your EAD card from USCIS. However, it can take longer, especially during Spring and Summer quarters. This is due to the fact that thousands of international students throughout the U.S. graduate at this time. Therefore, USCIS has more applications to review and process. Hopefully, this process will go smoothly and you will receive your EAD card. Once we receive your EAD card, we will contact you.

Then you will go immediately to apply for a Social Security Number. Please see the section marked How to Apply for a Social Security Number for more information.

1. OPT Employment/Job must be directly related to your field of study and commensurate with your level of education. You should obtain a signed letter from the employer’s hiring official, supervisor, or manager stating how your degree is related to the work performed.
   
   
   • You can work at a full- or part-time job, whichever is related to your field of study. For a part-time job, it must be at least 20 hours per week.
     
     
   • Multiple employers are fine as long as all of them are related to your major program.
   • Self-employment is allowed. You must work full time and prove that you have the proper business licenses and are actively engaged in work related to your field of study.
     
     
   • Volunteer work or unpaid internships that do not violate U.S. labor laws are okay. Your work must be at least 20 hours per week.
     
     
2. Limits on Period of Unemployment While on Post-Completion OPT
   
   
   • You may have up to 90 days of unemployment and still maintain your F-1 status.
     
     
   • If you started your post completion OPT prior to April 8, 2008, unemployment time will accrue only for time spent unemployed after April 8, 2008. Time unemployed prior to April 8, 2008 will not be counted.
     
     
   • What counts as time unemployed?
     
     During your post-completion OPT period, (i.e., from the beginning date to the ending date of OPT stated on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card), each day that you do not have qualifying employment counts as a day of unemployment.

     The only exception is that periods of up to 10 days between the end of one job and the beginning of the next job will not be included in the calculation for time spent unemployed.
     
     

   • How does travel outside the United States impact the period of unemployment?
     
     If your post-completion OPT has started and you travel outside of the United States while unemployed, the time spent outside the United States will count as unemployment against the 90-day limits.
     
     If you travel while employed either during a period of leave authorized by an employer or as part of their employment, the time spent outside the United States will not count as unemployment.
     
     
   • You may work as a volunteer or an unpaid intern, as long as they do not violate any U.S. labor laws. You must be able to provide evidence from the employer that you worked at least 20 hours per week during the period of this unpaid employment. The period of this unpaid employment will not count as unemployment.
     
     
   • You should plan ahead (at least 30 days before your 90-day unemployment is accrued) and take one of the following actions to avoid being out-of-status with immigration:
     
     • secure admission to BCC for a new program or to another school in the U.S. and be issued a new I-20
     • depart the U.S.
     • change to a different immigration status
     
     
     
3. Reporting Requirements to ISP

   You are required to report to Ms. Diem O’Rourke via email (dorourke@bellevuecollege.edu) or fax (425-641-0246) within 10 days of your change:
   

   • Personal contact information, such as name, address, phone number, and email address;
     
     
   • Employment information:
     
     • Name of employer
     • Start date of employment
     • Your supervisor’s mailing address, phone number, fax number, and email address
     • Describe how this job is directly related to your field of study
     • Change of employer, with end date of the previous employment and start date of new employment
     • Indicate “unemployed” and the end date of your last job if it’s more than 10 days of unemployment
     
     
     
   • If you decide to go home (i.e., giving up your OPT) and complete your F1 status prior to the OPT expiration date, please fill out and submit your “Withdrawal” form to ISP before you leave the U.S.

To travel outside of the U.S. and reenter, you still need to have a valid passport, a valid F-1 visa, and a signature on page 3 of your I-20 from our office. The difference is that you need to carry your EAD card with you, also. You also need to have your employer write a letter on your behalf verifying that you are an employee. You need to have found a job before you can leave the U.S. If you are in the process of looking for a job, let us know so we can advise you. If your F-1 visa is expired, you will need to renew it at the U.S. consulate or embassy in your country before you can reenter the U.S.

Your EAD card will say that it is not valid for reentry into the U.S. This just means that you can’t reenter the U.S. only using your EAD card, but that you also need your valid I-20 and passport.

Normally, it takes approximately 90-120 days to receive your EAD card from USCIS.

Hopefully, this process will go smoothly and you will receive your EAD. Once we receive your EAD card, we will contact you.

Go immediately apply for a social security number. Please see the section marked How to Apply for a Social Security Number for more information.

If you have received a completed On-Campus Employment Authorization form from our office, take this form, your I-20, and passport to the Social Security Administration to apply for a social security number. You will need a social security number to be able to work.

If you have received your EAD card from USCIS, take your EAD card, I-20, and passport to the Social Security Administration to apply for a social security number. In this case, you do not need any letter nor an Employment Authorization form from our office to apply.

The Social Security Administration is located at:

The Commerce Building
505 106th Avenue Northeast, Bellevue
(Between 4th & 8th Street)
It usually takes approximately 2-3 weeks to receive your number.