Depending on an individual’s U.S. nonimmigrant status, employment in the U.S. may be authorized through several visa categories. 

F-1 visa, academic student

On Campus
Students enrolled at Northwestern University may be employed on campus part-time, up to 20 hours per week, when school is in session and full-time when school is not in session or during annual vacations.  No special immigration authorization is required for on campus employment.

Off Campus
F-1 and J-1 international students wanting to work off campus must obtain authorization from the International Office prior to the start of employment.  Off campus employment most commonly occurs as practical training that is related to a student’s field of study.  Two types of practical training, Curricular and Optional, are available under U.S. federal regulations:

Curricular practical training (CPT) must be an integral part of an established curriculum and may occur as alternative work/study, internship, or cooperative education.  CPT is commonly expected to be required of all students in a program for it to be an integral part of a curriculum.  CPT is not available to MBP enrolled students because the Program’s requirement for participation in on campus courses, laboratories, and research training do not allow time for practical training off campus. 

Optional practical training (OPT) is temporary employment directly related to a student’s major area of study.  Although U.S. regulation allows authorization of OPT as soon as the course requirements for a degree are complete, OPT is feasible within the framework of the MBP curriculum only after the Program’s entire course of study is finished.  Students may be authorized for up to twelve (12) months of optional practical training.

H-1B visa, nonimmigrant alien employed temporarily in a specialty occupation

Except for the visa categories of OPT and TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico NAFTA professionals), most international students graduating from the MBP will require a H-1B visa for authorization to temporarily work in the U.S as a nonimmigrant for more than one year.  Many biotechnology jobs available to MBP graduates will satisfy the “specialty occupation” criteria of an H-1B visa, i.e, one that “requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge along with at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.”1  Employers must sponsor nonimmigrant aliens for H-1B visas and, after agreeing to hire a nonimmigrant alien, a petition is filed with the USCIS for adjudication.  Nonimmigrant aliens on H-1B status may only work for the petitioning employer and must work in the specialty occupation described in the approved I-129.  A new I-129 must be submitted and approved to undertake H-1B employment with a different employer.  H-1B visas are approved for an initial three year term and may be renewed for a second three year term.

The number of visas annually available to employers at for-profit organizations is limited, or capped; however, some exemptions to the annual cap exist.  The U.S. Congress has established a current annual cap of 65,000 for new H-1B visas.  From the 65,000 cap, 6,800 visas are initially reserved for the H-1B1 category.  The H1-B1 visas are available to nationals of Chile (1,400 visas) and Singapore (5, 400 visas) who will work in specialty occupations that require theoretical and practical knowledge of a body of specialized knowledge.  Any unused visas set aside for the H-1B1 category are returned to the 65,000 pool at the beginning of the fiscal year.  Exempted from the annual cap are 20,000 petitions for nonimmigrant workers who earned a Masters degree or higher degree from a U.S. academic institution.

Competition for the capped H-1B visas has increased in recent years causing some employers to stop considering for hire individuals who require H-1B visa sponsorship.  Annually, H-1B visa petitions may be filed on or after April 1 for approval to begin work in the subsequent fiscal year on October 1.  In 2007, USCIS did not accept new H-1B petitions for the 2008 fiscal year after April 3 because approximately 150,000 petitions were received within the first two days after new filings were allowed, exceeding the cap by more than double.  The H-1B petitions received on April 1 and 2 were submitted to a computer-generated random selection process to determine which petitions would be reviewed for approval.  Petitions that were not randomly selected were returned and petitioners must wait to reapply in 2008 for the 2009 fiscal year.  As a result of this competition and the random selection, no more than 43% of new employees in this capped H-1B category will be able to begin work in the U.S. during fiscal year 2008.  Although not with the same rapidity as for the 65,000 cap, the 20,000 exemption limit for H-1B visas to nonimmigrant workers with a Masters degree or higher from U.S. institution of higher education was reached on April 30, 2007.  If the competition for new capped H-1B visas continues in future years, December graduates of the MBP requiring visa sponsorship will likely need to obtain a job offer from a company willing to file an H-1B petition by the end of the February following graduation to allow sufficient time for document preparation before the H-1B petitions can be filed on April 1.

One H-1B employment category currently has no annual limit.  Nonimmigrant workers seeking positions at institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations are not subject to annual H-1B cap.  With the competition for H-1B visas in the capped category, work at these nonprofit institutions provides an opportunity to gain valuable experience.

1, “Q: What is a Specialty Occupation.” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  Retrieved January 11, 2008 from the World Wide Web

TN, nonimmigrant NAFTA professional

Citizens of Canada and Mexico, whose countries participate in a special economic and trade relationship with the U.S. known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), are allowed to temporarily work in the U.S. as nonimmigrant NAFTA professionals if they meet certain conditions:

• Profession is on the NAFTA list;

• Position in the U.S. requires a NAFTA professional;

• Mexican or Canadian applicant is to work in a prearranged full-time or part-time job, for a U.S. employer (documentation required). Self employment is not permitted;

• Professional Canadian or Mexican citizen has the qualifications of the profession.

Applicants for a TN visa must demonstrate their stay is temporary with a finite end that does not equate to permanent residency.  Because the specific application requirements differ for citizens of Canada and Mexico, expert legal advice may be needed to determine if one qualifies for TN status.

Depending on the entirety of their education and training, a graduate of the MBP may qualify for a number of professions on the NAFTA list: management consultant, research assistant, scientific technician/technologist, technical publications writer, animal scientist, biochemist, biologist, chemist, pharmacologist, and college or university teacher.

Links
NU International Office
         Current Students-Employment

U.S. Citizenship and Immigartion Services (USCIS)
         Immigration Services and Benefits
         Visit the U.S.
                 Temporary Workers
         Employment Authorization

U.S. Department of State, Mexican and Canadian NAFTA Professional Worker