Work Authorization Document:
Employee's Form I-20, page 3
- Employees may work full-time for up to 2 years as W-2 employees under U.S. work authorization sponsored and issued by their university.
This full-time employment is part of the employee's curricular practical training (CPT) program.
(Details about CPT may be found at the bottom of this page.)
Issuing an employee's work authorization is generally done the same day the employer makes the offer.
The employment authorization document is the employee's Form I-20, page 3.
The University is responsible for all parts of the employee's work authorization.
The employer is not involved with sponsoring or registering an employee's work authorization.
- After confirming with the employer an employment offer, the University's placement officers will promptly process and fax to the employer the updated Form I-20, page 3. Listed will be: The employer's name and address; the start date of full-time employment; the title of the employee's position (such as SDET; Developer; Consultant; Database Administrator, etc.).
- Candidates have completed their on-campus studies in a Masters of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) at Maharishi University of Management (Fairfield, Iowa) which is accredited through the Ph.D level by The Higher Learning Commission (www.ncahlc.org).
Employees work full-time under CPT for up to 2 years while taking distance education courses evenings and weekends (about 10 hours/week) to complete their MSCS.
The University is registered with the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security. The University's placement officer enters the employment information on-line in the SEVIS system.
- Form I-9 employer verification of employment eligibility of CPT employee: These 3 documents are required: 1) Unexpired passport; 2) Form I-94; 3) Updated Form I-20, page 3. See: "Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing the Form I-9", page 37, point #33:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf
- CPT employees work under the same employment regulations as other employees (such as "at will employment").
Additionally, the employer saves 7.65% of a CPT employee's salary amount due to the FICA/Medicare tax exemption of F-1 visa holders;
see the web page How To Hire
for more information on this tax savings.
- After up to two years of CPT employment, employees may also enroll in an IT Specialization that allows them to work full-time for an additional 11-12 months while taking distance education courses part-time with the University.
After up to 3 years of CPT full-time employment, the employer may choose to sponsor employees for an H-1B work visa that would allow up to an additional 6 years of employment.
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) vs Optional
Practical Training (OPT)
At the Master's level, USCIS (US Citizenship and
Immigration Services) rules allow students to undertake required CPT
positions during the first year of study, without having to be in
the program at least one full year beforehand. Unlike Optional
Practical Training (OPT), participation in CPT does not require
separate USCIS approval with issuance of an I-766 EAD
card.
All of our graduate level programs with off-campus
internship components, have been fully reviewed and approved by
various USCIS officials in the Omaha District Office, which has
oversight of our school.
Pertinent Sections from
USCIS Regulations US Citizenship and Immigration Services Guide 8CFR
214.2(f)(10)(i)(B)
(10)(i)
Curricular practical
training programs. An F-1 student may be authorized by the DSO
to participate in a curricular practical training program that is an
integral part of an established curriculum. Curricular practical
training is defined to be alternative work/study, internship
cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or
practicum that is offered by sponsoring employers through
cooperative agreements with the school. Students who have received
one year or more of full time curricular practical training are
ineligible for post-completion academic training. Exceptions to the
one academic year requirement are provided for students enrolled in
graduate studies that require immediate participation in curricular
practical training. A request for authorization for curricular
practical training must be made to the DSO. A student may begin
curricular practical training only after receiving his or her Form
I-20 with the DSO endorsement. (Revised effective 1/1/03; 67 FR
76256)
(10)(i)(B)
SEVIS
process. To grant authorization for a student to engage in
curricular practical training, a DSO at a SEVIS school will update
the student's record in SEVIS as being authorized for curricular
practical training that is directly related to the student's major
area of study. The DSO will indicate whether the training is
full-time or part-time, the employer and location, and the
employment start and end date. The DSO will then print a copy of the
employment page of the SEVIS Form I-20 indicating that curricular
practical training has been approved. The DSO must sign, date, and
return the SEVIS Form I-20 to the student prior to the student's
commencement of employment.
Our DSO Issues the Work
Authorization
When a candidate receives
a job offer, a university Designated School Official (DSO) logs onto
the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) site
and authorizes the candidate electronically. Participation in CPT
does not require USCIS approval because it is a mandated part of the
university's program. The DSO prints a copy of the employment page
of the SEVIS Form I-20 (page 3), signs it and faxes it to the
employer. The employer needs only to receive this signed form to
verify that the employee is officially enrolled in CPT and can begin
work on the start date indicated on the form.
Academic Credit
During curricular practical training, candidates
receive academic credit from the university. Candidates complete
their MSCS degrees through part-time distance education courses
during evenings and on weekends, while working full-time.
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