Employment Authorization

International students generally need to apply for full-time CPT for summer work in the U.S. Even if your internship is unpaid, you should apply for CPT if you're receiving Guaranteed Summer Funding (GSF) from the Law School.

You should leave enough time to apply for your CPT after you receive a summer job offer. The application process, which you can find in the sidebar, requires you to obtain a letter from your employer and find an adviser. It can take anywhere between 3 days to 2 weeks for the law school and the ISSO to process the CPT request.

CPT Adviser

Your CPT adviser can be any professor at the law school; they do not need to have research interests/teach courses that are related to the work you are doing for the summer. You do have to write a 3,500-4,000 words paper and submit it to your adviser for CR/No CR grading in the fall. It will occupy one credit in your fall transcript. Please check the links in the sidebar for specific information regarding that paper, including its length and the submission deadline. Please scroll down for a list of professors who have indicated that they are willing to serve as advisers.

When applying for CPT, your adviser CANNOT e-sign the form. The adviser needs to either sign the form physically and send the scanned version to you, or send the Registrar an email confirming that he/she will be your CPT adviser.

The Law School generally does not authorize CPT during the semester. Most externships do not require CPT, but certain judicial externships may have that requirement. Check with each individual externship/judge to ensure that you remain compliant with DHS regulations.

Please note that according to the ISSO, if an employer wants you to complete an I-9 Employment Authorization Verification form, it means that the employer considers it to be an employment relationship requiring authorization even if you are not being paid.

International students generally need to apply for OPT for post-graduation work in the U.S. This authorization allows eligible international students to work for up to 12 months upon graduation; during that time the student may be unemployed no more than 90 days. OPT application is a complicated process, with many requirements; please follow the instructions from ISSO when proceeding. You can watch the OPT for Spring 2021 Graduates Webinar Recording by ISSO here.

It could take a long time before USCIS finishes processing your OPT application. Therefore, it is recommended that you apply for OPT as early as possible; you may use the OPT Timeline calculator by the ISSO to determine when to apply. 

Note that the Law School's Registrar and the Office of Graduate Legal Studies have submitted a list of all prospective graduating students to the ISSO. Therefore, you do not need to submit an individual adviser form when applying for post-graduation OPT.

This video by ISSO discussing visa options after graduation, including overviews for H-1B, TN, and L visas, may be helpful as well.