Employers

F-1 STUDENT VISAS

Most students have an F-1 student visa.

INTERNSHIPS:

Employment period: Part-time (up to 20 hours/week) during the academic year. Full-time (20+hours/week) between quarters and during the summer.

Employer’s Role: Provide students with an offer letter on company letterhead (include title of position, start and end dates, number of hours per week, pay, brief description of job duties). Please view a sample Letter from UCLA Extension.

Cost and Processing Time: There is no cost to the employer. The processing and approval time for CPT is within 5 working days.

POST-GRADUATE WORK:

Employment Period

Up to 12 months after degree completion

Employer’s Role

Cost and Processing Time: There is no cost to the employer. Students must apply for OPT (Optional Practical Training) to be eligible to work after graduation. USCIS (US Citizen and Immigration Services) processing time for OPT takes an average of 90 days. Therefore, it is recommended that students submit their OPT application at least 3 months before their requested start date.

LONG TERM FULL-TIME POSITIONS: H-1B VISA

Employers can continue employing international graduates beyond the 12-month OPT period by filing a Petition for a Nonimmigrant (temporary) Worker on behalf of the employee, the most common category being the H-1B visa.  Other visa options can be found at USCIS website.

Employment period

H-1B petitions may be initially approved for three years but can be renewed for a total of six years.

Employer’s Role

The employer is responsible for filing the H-1B petition on behalf of the international employee. Many companies find that retaining an immigration attorney is helpful to facilitate the process. UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars can refer interested employers to law firms that have worked success-fully with our staff and faculty in the past.

Cost and Processing Time

Inclusive of the attorney fee and USCIS application fees, the total cost to apply for an H-1B visa is between $5,000-$7,000. The earliest date for filing a cap-subject H-1B petition is April 1. As there is high demand for H-1B visas, it is strongly recommended that applications arrive at USCIS on April 1. Approved H-1B visas become effective October 1.  The process for cap-exempt H-1B visas is slightly different.

Cap-Exempt H-1B: Only 65,000 H-1B visas are given out for candidates who have completed undergraduate degrees, and an additional 20,000 are available for those who have completed graduate degrees in the U.S. An exemption to the cap is available to U.S. employers that fall into one of the three exemption categories including:

• Higher education institution
• Non-profit organization associated with a higher education institution
• Non-profit research or government research organization

Additional information regarding cap-exempt H-1B process can be found here.