Studying without EAD

[Boatsi 7]

Hi,

Is it possible while I'm waiting for AOS from K1 to got to college without an EAD? The college says yes I can take classes. I do however wonder if I am also allowed for an internship which my curriculum requires me to do part-time for 8 weeks. 

Thanks. 

[Mike E 11,739]

11 minutes ago, Boatsi said:

Hi,

Is it possible while I'm waiting for AOS from K1 to got to college without an EAD?

Yes. 
 

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/Nonimmigrant Class Who Can Study.pdf
 

11 minutes ago, Boatsi said:

  I do however wonder if I am also allowed for an internship which my curriculum requires me to do part-time for 8 weeks.

You need an EAD or I-551 to do that. 

 

 

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

Yes, you can take classes. My husband did that right when he entered the US, far before he had an EAD or SSN, and he graduated with no issues. Just keep in mind, you have little to no financial aid options during that time and you can not file a FAFSA. We paid cash for my husband's courses before he got his green card.

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from AOS from Work/Student/Tourist Visas forum to Your New Life In America forum -- topic is about studying while pending AOS ***

 

[Chancy 6,241]

4 hours ago, Boatsi said:

I do however wonder if I am also allowed for an internship which my curriculum requires me to do part-time for 8 weeks. 

 

No work allowed without EAD or GC.  Not even internship or part-time work.

 

[Boatsi 7]

On 2/10/2023 at 2:58 PM, Sarah&Facundo said:

Yes, you can take classes. My husband did that right when he entered the US, far before he had an EAD or SSN, and he graduated with no issues. Just keep in mind, you have little to no financial aid options during that time and you can not file a FAFSA. We paid cash for my husband's courses before he got his green card.

Money is no problem but thanks for the tip.

Did he have to go through internships too? If so how did he do that without an EAD? 

 

[Boatsi 7]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I did however find an answer to my question which I'd like to share with especially those who told me I can't. It might have been my wording or the way I asked about an internship but it's not black and white. The right answer is: it depends. Here is what I found and I do hope this will help others asking the same question as well. In my case the following applies which grants me the ability to study without an EAD and to complete my curriculum:

 

Curricular Practical Training (CPT): F-1 students can be approved by a school's designated school official (DSO) to work for a specific off-campus employer for a specific time period as CPT. In order to qualify for CPT, the work must be an integral part of the established curriculum in the student's course of study. CPT can be approved either for part-time (20 hours or less per week) or full-time employment (for example, in a cooperative situation). DSO approval, and notation of that approval to the student's SEVIS record and Form I-20, are required prior to beginning CPT.

 

Source: https://www.coe.edu/student-life/student-life-resources/international-student-affairs/employment-volunteering/legal-issues-international-students-and-unpaid-internships

 

 

 

 

 

[Chancy 6,241]

8 hours ago, Boatsi said:

In my case the following applies which grants me the ability to study without an EAD and to complete my curriculum:

 

NO -- it doesn't apply in your case.  You are not an F-1 student.  You are an AOS applicant.  As such, EAD is required for any sort of work, including internship.  In fact, even F-1 students are strongly recommended to apply for EAD.  Scroll down the page you linked to see this note -- "Given the difficulty and ambiguity of the DOL six-factor test, the safest rule for international students should be that, if a student is providing a beneficial service to an employer, whether paid or unpaid, the student should obtain proper authorization to work."

 

[Boatsi 7]

18 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

NO -- it doesn't apply in your case.  You are not an F-1 student.  You are an AOS applicant.  As such, EAD is required for any sort of work, including internship.  In fact, even F-1 students are strongly recommended to apply for EAD.  Scroll down the page you linked to see this note -- "Given the difficulty and ambiguity of the DOL six-factor test, the safest rule for international students should be that, if a student is providing a beneficial service to an employer, whether paid or unpaid, the student should obtain proper authorization to work."

 

It's not an internship. If you would have read my post I already pointed out my poor choice of words. It's a CPT and my college gave me the ok for studying without an EAD and while AOS. 

 

Look - as long as you're not an immigration lawyer your guess is as good as mine.

 

I appreciate everyone who took the time to reply but I was hoping to find someone here who was going through a similar experience or who is an immigration lawyer. 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Boatsi

[nastra30 2,284]

21 minutes ago, Boatsi said:

It's not an internship. If you would have read my post I already pointed out my poor choice of words. It's a CPT and my college gave me the ok for studying without an EAD and while AOS. 

 

Look - as long as you're not an immigration lawyer your guess is as good as mine.

 

I appreciate everyone who took the time to reply but I was hoping to find someone here who was going through a similar experience or who is an immigration lawyer. 

Again, CPT doesn’t apply to you. It's for F-1 students; not K-1 folks. CPT is endorsed directly in an I-120. You don't have an I-120  so I don't see how you'll get a CPT.

Edited February 14, 2023 by nastra30

[Chancy 6,241]

2 hours ago, Boatsi said:

It's a CPT and my college gave me the ok for studying without an EAD and while AOS.

 

Studying without EAD is ok; working without EAD is not.  If you want legal immigration advice about that, VJ would not be the right place to ask as the TOS and the disclaimer below prohibits anyone from claiming that any advice given here is legal advice.  Consult an actual immigration lawyer.  As for actual experience, maybe @Sarah&Facundo or @Rocio0010 has input on CPT/OPT/work without EAD/GC.

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

4 hours ago, Boatsi said:

It's a CPT and my college gave me the ok for studying without an EAD and while AOS.

I would say take what the college says with a big grain of salt. What college is this? Does it have an international student office? 
The text you extracted pertains to F-1 students. That should immediately stop you in your tracks. You’re not an F-1 student and if you have an international office in your college they should be the first ones telling you that. 
I was an F1 student with a CPT and even though it is unpaid and part of the training, me, my advisor and ISO had to have several meetings to go over the requirements and make sure I wasn’t violating my visa. I strongly suggest you to do the same. 

[Boatsi 7]

53 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

I would say take what the college says with a big grain of salt. What college is this? Does it have an international student office? 
The text you extracted pertains to F-1 students. That should immediately stop you in your tracks. You’re not an F-1 student and if you have an international office in your college they should be the first ones telling you that. 
I was an F1 student with a CPT and even though it is unpaid and part of the training, me, my advisor and ISO had to have several meetings to go over the requirements and make sure I wasn’t violating my visa. I strongly suggest you to do the same. 

Thank you for your answer. I hope you don't mind me not enclosing the name of the college for obvious privacy reasons. I did contact the international office at this college and told them about my status and not having an EAD and they said it's fine. So you all telling me I should listen to you instead of an official statement from a university? Again thank you for taking the time to reply but as stated above VJ might not be the right place to answer my question. This thread can be taken down as it obviously leads to nothing as there's only your words against mine without any legal base. I'm not lawyer and you guys are neither. I was hoping to find people with the same experience. What I got was answers from people who just like me can only read various internet sources. Thanks again though. Peace out

[Rocio0010 5,579]

24 minutes ago, Boatsi said:

Thank you for your answer. I hope you don't mind me not enclosing the name of the college for obvious privacy reasons. I did contact the international office at this college and told them about my status and not having an EAD and they said it's fine. So you all telling me I should listen to you instead of an official statement from a university? Again thank you for taking the time to reply but as stated above VJ might not be the right place to answer my question. This thread can be taken down as it obviously leads to nothing as there's only your words against mine without any legal base. I'm not lawyer and you guys are neither. I was hoping to find people with the same experience. What I got was answers from people who just like me can only read various internet sources. Thanks again though. Peace out

I hope you’ve read that I had an F1 and a CPT. 
 

[Boatsi 7]

9 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

I hope you’ve read that I had an F1 and a CPT. 
 

I did but it won't help me as I'm adjusting from K1. We don't have the same situation