F-1 Employment

Employment is work performed in exchange for compensation. Compensation can include money, room and board, or other significant benefits. On-campus employment does not require any special work authorization, however, there are immigration regulations set in place for off-campus employment.

Before accepting any kind of off-campus employment (including payments received by off-campus employers), contact your assigned international advisor. 

You are ALWAYS required to receive authorization on your I-20 before doing any off-campus employment. Working without authorization is a violation of your F-1 visa status and may result in severe consequences to your current visa status and future USCIS requests.

On-Campus Employment

On-campus employment, such as Teaching Assistantships and Hospitality Services for example, do not require special authorization on your I-20.

However, any kind of employment in the US will require a Social Security Number (SSN). An appointment at the Social Security Office will require specific documents, so you will need to submit an SSN request in your ISSS Student Portal to get started.

How to Apply for SSN

Students may not work more than 20 hours a week at any given time throughout the year, per TTU's campus policies:

(4) Because undergraduate and graduate student employees are both students and employees, employment is part-time and students employed in the occupational categories listed above in section 2.a. may not work for the university more than an average of 20 cumulative hours per week. In other words, when combined, all hours worked in all positions for Texas Tech may not average more than 20 hours per week or be greater than a .5 FTE.

TTU Operating Policies & Procedures, OP 70.27

To learn more about on-campus employment, please visit the link below:

On-Campus Employment

Off-Campus Employment

TTU offers only two forms of off-campus employment authorizations: OPT and CPT. Both authorizations require that you have been enrolled at TTU for at least one full academic year (you must have completed one Spring and one Fall semester). 

What is CPT?

CPT, or Curricular Practical Training, is a special work authorization that allows a student to pursue an internship/co-op to receive course credits. CPT must be a requirement for your program, approved by your academic advisor, and authorized by your international advisor.

Learn About CPT

What is OPT?

TTU only offers post-completion OPT (Optional Practical Training). OPT is a special work authorization that allows a student to work for practical experience after commencement. The work must be related to a degree earned in the US, and must reach 21 or more hours a week.

Learn About OPT

Volunteering On Campus

Students cannot do volunteer work on the TTU campus without special permission from TTU's Human Resources Office. The department needs to make this request to HR, not the student. The pertinent policies, procedures and links to the forms for the department can be found on OP 70.21 - Volunteer Workers.

If you are approved by HR to volunteer on campus, we recommend obtaining a formal letter from your professor/employer that contains the following information:

• Name of employer
• Physical location of employment, or if it is remote work
• Hours worked per week
• Start and end dates of employment
• Brief job description
• That work is unpaid

This letter is for your own records for documentation purposes. If you ever file for OPT or a different visa application in the future, USCIS may ask you to provide documentation of the employment that you reported when you volunteered. 

Learn About On-Campus Volunteering