F-1 Employment

On-campus employment:

• A student in F-1 status may work up to 20 hours per week on campus while enrolled in a full course of study [12 credits for undergraduates, eight credits for graduate students, three credits for dissertators]. "On-campus" jobs include work in the U.W. student unions, libraries, recreational centers, and in academic and administrative departments. As a full-time student, you do not need permission to work on-campus up to 20 hours per week. You will need to show your employer documents which establish your identification and employment eligibility, as listed on the I-9 form all new employees must complete. There is no exception to the 20 hour-per-week ceiling, even if the employment is a teaching or project assistantship.
  
  On-campus employment may be full time during vacation periods (summer, semester break) for students who have maintained full time status before the vacation, and intend to register for the following semester.

Off-campus employment:

• If you have been in valid F-1 status for two semesters or at least nine months, you have several options for working off campus:

Curricular practical training

• This work option is ideal for Engineering and Agriculture Co-op projects. Curricular Practical Training is defined as alternate work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship that sponsoring employers offer through cooperative agreements with the university. You will need authorization from ISS for this type of practical training. If you are authorized for one year or more of full-time curricular practical training, you will not be eligible for optional post-degree practical training.
• Curricular Practical Training Application form
  Curricular Practical Training: Frequently Asked Questions

Optional practical training

Optional Practical Training Workshops every Monday at 4 p.m. in the Red Gym.

• This program allows you to take a job in your field of study, part or full-time. The total amount of time that you can work under optional practical training is 12 months. Optional practical training may be done during specific times before you graduate, or after you graduate. Student jobs, (PA, TA, or RA), do not qualify as jobs for optional practical training.
• STEM Extension of OPT - Recipients of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in certain STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields can apply to USCIS for a one-time 17-month extension of post-completion OPT (for a total eligibility of up to 29 months). To be eligible for the extension, you must be engaged in an unexpired authorized period of post-completion OPT with en employer registered in E-Verify. The STEM Designated Degree Program List consists of select fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For a comnplete list of qualifying majors at UW-Madison, click here. The major listed on the I-20 on which the application for OPT is based will be the point of reference for USCIS adjudicators.
  
  If eligible, you may request a new I-20 from ISS recommending the STEM Extension of OPT. Please e-mail iss@odos.wisc.edu five months in advance of the expiry of your current EAD card for an application and instructions. Once ISS completes your new I-20 recommending the STEM Extension of your OPT, you may submit your request to the government for their approval as early as four months in advance of and no later than the expiration of your current EAD card

International Tax Information

• UW-Madison International Tax Information
• Windstar Tax Links
• USCIS Forms and Publications

• Social Security Online

• US Department of Treasury - Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• IRS and State Tax Forms
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue