Hosting International Interns

An F-1 visa is granted to a person coming to the United States to attend a college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or language training program approved by the U.S. Attorney General for study by foreign students. The visa holder plans to return home after completing studies. This is the most common non-immigrant visa for an international student attending undergraduate and graduate school. Students are granted F-1 status until the completion of the academic program and 12 months of post-program practical training. The purpose of the F-1 visa is to provide an opportunity for study in the United States. Anything outside of study, including employment, is an exception to the visa. Authorization for employment is strictly limited to certain situations.

The student holding F-1 status for a full academic year and in good academic standing may work off campus. They may work for no more than 20 hours per week when school is in session, but may work full time during holidays and vacations, including breaks between terms, provided the student intends to register for the next school term.
If an international student is working/interning off-campus, they must be registered for internship credit.
Curricular Practical Training: An F-1 student may perform curricular practical training prior to the completion of the educational program as part of his or her educational experience. The INS defines this type of training as "alternate work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum that is offered by sponsoring employers through agreement with the school."

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is the most relevant status for student interns. Please contact Amy Nichols Villeda, Director, International Student Programs at anicolsvilleda@messiah.edu for more information about CPT and of particular importance the offer letter that an employer needs to write for an international intern.

Optical Practical Training: This is temporary employment directly related to the student's major area of study that takes place after the student completes a full course of study. Authorization for this training may be granted for a maximum of 12 months of full-time or part-time work. Those on a student visa can only gain authorization once for this type of training.

The above information is adapted from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (reprinted with permission of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder). For more information on these and other legal issues, visit https://www.naceweb.org. Also see the website of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services- https://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.

Employers can take advantage of a nationwide service provider who handles all the necessary paperwork for international students desiring to work in an organization.

Immigration Support Services- 1300 Bent Creek Blvd., Mechanicsburg, PA 17055