How to Make Money as an International Student in the USA (Legally)

So, if you're an international student thinking about coming to study in the US or if you're already in the US, you've probably asked yourself this question. Can I make money while I study without breaking the law? Of course. Now, the answer to this is yes, but there are very strict rules. And in this video, I'm going to go through all of these rules so that you can understand how you can work legally in the United States while you're studying. [Music] Now I am William. I actually came from South Africa to America in 2013 as an international student and I actually started studying at a community college first before transferring on to the University of Rochester and then I later on went to an Ivy League school for graduate school. Now I've worked legally in the US as an international student and and I've helped many other students do the same with the advice that I've given. So, right now, I just want to make sure that you get this advice so that you do not do anything that could jeopardize your visa. So, this video is going to give you guys all the tips on everything that you need to know about working in the United States while you're studying. If you're on an F1 student visa, the law is very, very clear. There's only a few ways you can work legally in the United States as an international student. Now the first way you can actually do that is by working on campus. Now you are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week on campus while school is in session. So that means during the spring and the fall semesters you can work legally in your school for 20 hours per week. Now the cool stuff about this is during the breaks such as the summer breaks and the winter breaks you can work up to 40 hours on campus. But remember, you have to be working on campus and not off campus. Now, some of the best jobs for international students on campus are things like working in the tutoring center or in the cafeteria or in, you know, IT support. These are really, really good roles for you as an international student. Now, me myself, I actually worked as a tutor because I was really good at math and they're always hiring for math tutors. And it was a really great opportunity for me to not only connect with students but also to connect with professors. So it was a really great experience and I would definitely encourage you guys to look at that type of work. But again it's important you can't work off campus just because you want to. That's illegal. You have to do it in a specific way. Now I've talked about on campus but let's say you wanted to work off campus. In order to do that, you will need permission. And there are two programs that can make that legal. And these are the two programs that you'd want to use in order to work off campus as an international student. Now, the first one is called CPT. And that is curricular practical training. And basically CPT allows you to work off campus while still in school, but it must be part of your program. So for instance, an internship. If you are doing an internship that is closely tied to your program of study, then that would qualify under CPT. So, a lot of my friends who got internships over the summer actually use CPT in order to actually do them cuz CPT allows you to work off campus for your internship. Now, the things you need to do is you must have at least completed one year of your academic program. And then the next thing is you must be in a program that allows for CPT. And finally, you also need to get approval from your DSO or basically also known as your designated school official. Now, the second program is optional practical training or also known as OPT. Now, OPT allows you to work in America, but this is usually used for after you graduate and not really during your academic career. But there is something called precompletion opt. And now you can also use that in order to work legally in the United States. Now, the big thing about all of this is your OPT must be approved by USCIS. That's the first thing. Must be approved by USCIS. And in order for it to be approved, you really need to apply early because it can take months in order for your OPT to be approved. Now, you can start working until you get your EAD card, which is your employment authorization document. You cannot start working until you get that card, and that takes months. Now, I personally used OPT after I graduated. So, I didn't do any precompletion opt. I haven't seen many people actually use that one, but it is an option out there if you wanted to, but I used my OPT after I graduated. Now, I actually made a video about OPT, and I'm going to put it somewhere up here so that you can watch it. So, this is where a lot of students get confused and this is also where they get in a lot of trouble. Now, in the United States, as an international student, you cannot do a couple of things. You can't go driving for Uber or Door Dash or doing any type of contract work because that is actually working off campus and is not permissible to international students. You also cannot be doing like freelancing online unless it's of course part of your CPT or OPT or getting paid under the table. You cannot be doing any of those, right? And this also includes remote work. You can't really work remotely as an international student. These are considered unauthorized employment and they could all lead to your visa getting terminated and that's really not a thing that you want to do because yes, you can make extra money but the whole thing is if you get caught your visa can get revoked. So it's not really worth it. Okay. So I've told you what you cannot again do but I just want to reiterate again. This is what you can do. You can work on campus strategically, right? So, what you can do is you can find jobs that pay really well or help you build skills like tutoring, IT or research. Find those highpaying jobs on campus and actually go for them. And what you can also do is become a RA so that you can get free housing or meal plans. An RA is a resident adviser. That's the type of job that may allow you to live on campus for free. So, be very strategic when it comes to figuring out how to make money in America. Also, make sure that you are using your CPT. That's one thing that doesn't get really utilized by many international students. So, make sure you use it right. Make sure you get internships during the summer so that you can make a lot of money during the summer and it can help you during the fall and the spring. Now, all of these things that I'm telling you are just tips, right? At the end of the day, you have to look at what works best for you. Because even though I'm giving you all of this information, it might be better for you to actually just take out a loan or something along those lines in order to pay for your school instead of actually working part-time. So, having said all of that, I believe as an international student, you should work when you're in America, right? So, definitely get a job on campus or get an internship, etc. because that experience is going to be vital for you later on once you're trying to get a a full-time position. Not only that, I also feel like you need some discretionary income. There's a lot of things in America that cost a lot of money for international students. It'll really be hard just putting that on your family and, you know, on loans. Sometimes it's great to have that extra $20 to buy a snack or to go to the movies, etc. So definitely definitely definitely even if you don't really need it, I'll encourage you to work during your time as a student in America definitely on campus so that you can get that experience and so that you can also get some income. Now having said all of that, I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, definitely like and subscribe and also leave a comment down below. Tell me what are your thoughts on studying and working in America. I always try and respond to all the comments down there. So definitely leave a comment down below and I'll try and respond to it. But I'm very intrigued in learning more about whether you'd want to work on campus or what are your tricks of working in America. Anyway, thank you so much for watching and I'll be seeing you in the next video.