Unrestricted Work Authorization

[andryjohn 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm italian and I'm studying in the last year of Master. I'll have to make an internship next semester and I looked for internships in the US.

I have bumped into a problem. One company asked me if I had "Unrestricted Work Authorization for the U.S."! Now, I tried looking online but I got confused raelly soon

If I understood well I could satisfy the requirement if I could get an Employment Authorization Document. is it right? problem is that I don't really understand what are the requirements to obtain this EDA!!

So, could someone please help me to solve this problem?

also in the case that the procedure is feasible, what is the average time needed to get that document?

Thank you very much!!

Cheerio

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Have you spoken to your DSO at your school? You can do your OTP extension of your student visa but the job must directly be related to your major.

As a simple F-1 visa holder, no you do not have unrestricted work authorization

Good luck

[andryjohn 0]

Have you spoken to your DSO at your school? You can do your OTP extension of your student visa but the job must directly be related to your major.

As a simple F-1 visa holder, no you do not have unrestricted work authorization

Good luck

Thank you canadian_wife!

just to be precise, now I don't have any visa! :-) I'm studing in italy! and during my internship I won't be enrolled in a U.S. university so I guess I won't be eligible for a F-1 visa. I think...

Normally I should have a J-1 visa. which on its own doesn't grant me unrestricted work authorization.

Can I extend th J-1 to an OTP? or what else could I do to gain unrestricted work authorization?

The job is related to what I'm studying, I'll be making a thesis on it.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

I misunderstood your initial post

No, there is no way to get unrestricted work authorization if you are currently not in the US and OPT (I mistyped it last time as OTP) is for F-1 visas. A J-1 is company specific as are most other work visas, meaning you can only work for a specific company - obviously not un-restricted

Read up on J-1, this is the visa for interns

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1267.html

good luck

[andryjohn 0]

I misunderstood your initial post

No, there is no way to get unrestricted work authorization if you are currently not in the US and OPT (I mistyped it last time as OTP) is for F-1 visas. A J-1 is company specific as are most other work visas, meaning you can only work for a specific company - obviously not un-restricted

Read up on J-1, this is the visa for interns

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1267.html

good luck

ouch!! That doesn't look good...

thank you anyway canadian_wife!

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Sorry, unless someone can come up with an unrestricted work visa for the US - I'm afraid that what you are looking for isn't what USCIS offers. And in this economy, employers don't want to spend the money to sponsor an immigrant, especially when so many US citizens are out of work.

All is not lost, if you can get a J-1 that will allow you to go to the US for a set amount of time, carry our your internship, and return to Italy

Good luck

[andryjohn 0]

I agree. The point is that the company directly asked if I had unrestricted work authorization!

Anyway, now I asked them if a J-1 could be enough for them.... let's see what they reply!

Thanks again!