Guide to CPT and OPT for international students (especially for entrepreneurs)
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice.
If you’re looking for legal help, I cannot recommend Peter Roberts from Roberts Immigration Law Group highly enough. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-roberts-65376485, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11972135)
Important things to be aware of that may be useful later
Keep all of your I-20 forms. Don’t throw any out. It will be easier to apply for your OPT if you still have all of your old I-20 forms.
Always pay your US taxes.
Visa options
O-1 Visa. Not as hard as you think, but still hard. The “extraordinary alien” visa. More founders are getting O-1s these days. Likely to work if your business has taken off.
H1-B. Not really a good option if working for your own company.
If you’re Australian: E-3 Visa. Requires you to have a legitimate company, and requires you to pay yourself market rates (see the E-3 guide linked below). I don’t think there’s a minimum number of hours though, so you could theoretically pay yourself $15k/yr if you had a $60k prevailing wage and you were doing 10 hours per week, I think. For E-3 you can get them at Canadian consulates so you don’t have to fly all the way back to Australia. They care about: 1) Do you have the right educational background and 2) Is it a professional job?
Note about your own Company: setting up a company is legit if you’re getting offices, hiring people and you can show how the company is going to be able to fund this and your salary for the next two years. Setting up a sham front company to hire yourself out as a contractor isn’t recommended; I know people who’ve been rejected because the consular staff didn’t think the sponsoring company was legit enough. Expect to show up with your balance sheet, P&L, and demonstrate investment, clients or anything else you need to show the new business will be a going concern — remember, if you get rejected, you’ve now been classed as someone the US has denied a visa to — a black mark that is very hard to work around in the future. — From this guide to E-3 visas.
E-2 investor visa. It’s expensive (think ~$100k).
FAQ
Can I work for myself while an undergrad?
Yes, you can legally do this using part-time OPT. Part-time OPT can be done with your own company, even if you are your own manager and the sole employee of the company.
How long should I give for setting up another visa after my OPT ends?
Perhaps 3 months is good for E-3 or O-1.
How long do marriage visas take?
6–18 months
What’s the best visa for self employment, long term?
O-1 should work well, E-3 often works well for Australians. O-1 is probably better.
What happens if I have worked without authorization?
Avoid this. But if you do it, and you’ve worked for less than 6 months without authorization, you can still apply for a green card. If more than 6 months, you’re “cured” if you leave the USA and then re-enter.
Instructions for Summer CPT at Stanford
- Step 1: Get an offer letter
- Step 2: Send the offer letter and a note about how it relates to your major to the person responsible in your department
- Step 3: You’ll get a permission code from them
- Step 4: Enroll in 1 unit CPT for the summer session in Axess
- Step 5: Fill out the online CPT form, which routes to your advisor
- Step 6: Confirm it with your advisor
Depending on what kind of internships you want to take, you can select a different major and then switch it later on. I knew I would be a CS major, but I was officially an MS&E major until my last year so that I could do MS&E related internships (e.g. related to investing and VC).
Sample CPT Letter (for before getting CPT approval)
CPT — 201X
My name
This summer I will be working at X, a firm that has done Y. I anticipate earning my degree in Z. This internship allows me to gain A. [Literally, just one short sentence for each of these]
At [firm name], I will use and apply knowledge, both theoretical and practical, on XYZ.
Being able to do X (e.g. work with [my manager’s name]) will allow me to gain [this thing that is relevant to my currently declared major].
This experience will be a core part of my [major name] experience.
Instructions for OPT at Stanford
Compared with CPT, this is relatively straightforward and Stanford’s instructions are good: https://bechtel.stanford.edu/immigration/employment/f-1-employment/optional-practical-training-opt/post-completion-opt
Doing OPT (first 12 months) with your own company
Does the incorporation state matter?
No. Do whatever state you want. Wyoming is very cheap, and Nevada is common for companies that raise money.
If doing an LLC, does it matter to do a 1 person or a 2 person LLC?
Doesn’t matter as far as 12-month OPT is concerned.
Does it matter if the corporation looks very legit?
Not really. Doesn’t matter at all if you’re not traveling outside the US and therefore aren’t being interviewed by border agents or visa consulate agents. If you are being interviewed, it matters a little bit. It can be self employment on the 12-month OPT.
e.g. don’t incorporate as “Your Name LLC”.
You do need to be working in your “area of study”. e.g. if you’re a computer science major, then perhaps you can note that “As a computer science major, I will be developing software.”
Can I have a $0 salary?
Yes. And this will not impact your visa options down the track negatively, it’s completely fine to do $0 on the 12 month OPT.
How many hours per week can I do with my own company?
OPT self employment has to be full-time. I think that means 40 hours per week. [Update: I think it means 20 hours per week?]
Will I get held up at secondary processing if I travel on OPT?
Quite likely.
Is there anything important to know about OPT?
Yes, be warned about travel on OPT. You must have a valid visa stamp (the US visa thing) in your passport. Your original visa from undergrad has likely expired by the time you graduate, depending on what date it shows. Also, unlike while you’re a student where you need a new I-20 signature every 12 months, when you’re on OPT you need a new signature every 6 months.
How do I get a new visa stamp so I can travel while on post completion OPT?
You’ll have to go to a US consulate outside of the US. It’s not a fun process. You’ll want to try and make an appointment months in advance, although if you have a good reason you can file for an emergency appointment.
How long can I stay in the US?
Whatever your employment authorization says plus a 60 day grace period.
Doing OPT 24 month extension with your own company
Sadly, as of May 2016 this is now much harder to do. e.g. see https://www.princeton.edu/intlctr/graduate/for-f-1-students/employmenttraining/off-campus-employment/24-month-stem-opt/ and https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/students/f1-students/stem-extend#after
