This employment authorization may be granted if you can document that you have experienced a severe and unforseen economic hardship. It allows you to work anywhere off campus up to 20 hours/week. The employment does not need to be related to your major field of study. If you do not believe you are eligible for this type of employment authorization or would like to explore more options to assist you with an economic hardship, you may reach out to the International Student Affairs office for support.
This employment is recommended by the ISSS and authorized by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and may take between 1 and 5 months. No job offer is needed for this employment.
No job offer is needed for this employment.
You must have been a full-time F-1 student at Temple for one academic year since you documented sufficient funding for your first year of study. This employment, if granted, will be authorized for one year or until you complete your degree, whichever is shorter.
You will be permitted to engage in employment part-time while school is in session (fall and spring semesters) and full-time during summer and winter breaks. If you cease to maintain status by failing to register, your SEVIS record will be terminated and your employment will no longer be legal.
You must prove to USCIS that you have encountered UNFORESEEN and SEVERE circumstances beyond your control. Some examples are lost of financial aid through no fault on your part, substantial fluctuations in the exchange rate, medical bills not covered by your insurance and unexpected changes in the financial condition of your financial sponsor. You must be able to fully document any claims that you make.
Prepare the following documents for your application:
- I-765: https://www.uscis.gov/i-765. The eligibility category is (c)(3)(iii), #27 in part 2 of the form.
- Application fee: The correct filing fee for Form I-765 must be included, unless the student wishes to request a fee waiver, in which case the student should also include a properly completed and documented Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. The student should review USCIS guidance on fee waivers before completing Form I-912.
- Submitting the fee waiver may cause delays as USCIS will review your request for a waiver and may deny it. However, the fee is high and your request may be approved, given the fact you are documenting severe economic necessity
- Currently only paper filing is available. The application fee is $520.00 You may pay the fee with a money order, personal check, cashier’s check, or credit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Make sure the date on the check is written as “Month/Day/Year”.
- USCIS Fee Schedule for more information: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/g-1055.pdf
- Copies of previously issued I-20s
- "Initial attendance" I-20 and prior CPT or OPT I-20 if applicable.
- I-94 - You can find your I-94 online: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/
- A letter from you explaining your severe, unforeseen economic necessity. The emphasis in your letter should be on how the change in your funding was unforeseen, that there was no way you could incorporate it into your budget planning.
- Documentation of unforeseen circumstances, this should be documentation to support what you wrote in your letter of explanation.
- Academic history: Log into TUportal, under Self-Service Banner, you'll find your academic history.
- Any previously issued EAD card(s) or related notices issued by USCIS. You would have an EAD card if you previously applied for OPT. You would have notice(s) from USCIS if you received a change of status in the U.S.
- Copy of your F-1 visas
- Copy of biographical page of passport
- E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance: Use this form to request a text message and/or email when USCIS accepts your form . The form is available at https://www.uscis.gov/g-1145.
- Two U.S. Passport Style Photos: You will need to send in two U.S. passport style photos with your application to USCIS. You can obtain the photos from certain UPS, FedEx, CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid locations.
*After you have gathered all required documents, please submit all required materials to the online request form.