About OPT

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No i am not a JD candidate. I have a Bachelors in law (LL.B) which is the european equivalent ofa JD. My masters degree for which my F1 status is based is in US legal studies. It was a 12 month course
 
yeah
so what happens if you cannot find a company for OPT? Can you just stay here and keep looking and not work? or work in random places?? Does the employer need to sign something for OPT???

To mira:
If I were you, I would just go to your career center and see what they can do. Or talk to your professor if there is an opening in your department...
 
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Mira, I understand your problem.............It is not easy to break into US law related jobs with foreign credentials. Your best bet is to work with your career office at school, law school advisers, and professors............They would best assist you. You can keep looking for a job during the whole year your OPT is valid.
 
Ausamsam, Your employer does not need to sigh anything on your OPT before you get. You don't need a job to get or qualify for OPT. You would get your work permit and use to look for jobs related to your field of study. You are not to work in areas which are not related to your studies………So you can keep searching for a job during the entire one year of your OPT.
 
Are you legally eligible for employment in the United States? If not an American Citizen, provide I-9 certification.

Are you an alien authorized to work in the U.S.?

how should we answer this?

"Existing work authorization required"

does OPT count?

Can I (or all F-1 students) use this form

For H1, can we work as part time? like adjunct Professor/instructor?

I recently saw this in a job application. if a company/college asks for this, how do I know they would like to sponsor for visa?

How do I check?
 
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Thanks ausamsam and mafioso,
I have been working not only with my school career services but also other institutions and have sent out tons of applications and attended interviews but with no success. I have also spoken with Professors. I just want to know if there is a particulal niche out there for some area of law that would make me more viable? or Is there a quasi legal route to take? Cause the way it stands now i may probably end up working at a place just for cash with no hope of H1 B sponsorship. Then comes the problem of what next after OPT and no offer....

For ausamsam,
whenever i fill applications now and they ask for work authorization, i usually tick 'yes' now because of my OPT eventhough i know they are asking about something much more like a work permit. But the way i see it, the odds are already stacked against me so why don't i see how far i can get. Cause you know when you tick that box saying "no work authorization" your application goes out the window!! At least this way, there is a chance that your application gets seen by more people and you could get further with someone willing to see what you can do.
 
Besides, OPT is considered "work authorization". It just has a unchangeable specific duration of 12months
 
To mira... is that right to do that? is that because of that so they did not think you are truthfully answering the question...? my application would look worse than yours because i had a misdemeanor. before i got it expunged, i am dead.

so how many application did you spent out, how many get back to you, how many interview... do you need to travel really far away for job interview?
 
Besides, OPT is considered "work authorization". It just has a unchangeable specific duration of 12months

Some large law firms recruit degree holders like yours to positions like case file worker, legal analyst, legal secretary and host of other positions. Some start paying from 55k…..But most don't do H1B sponsorship. So your best bet is to try to get a job in any related field which is not exactly law. You can work in the legal department of a company or store as an adviser or customer specialist to review customers concerns, so as to avoid litigation. Just keep trying…………It is hard but do your best and take the first job which would sponsor you.
 
ausamsam,
Are you legally eligible for employment in the United States? If not an American Citizen, provide I-9 certification.
Yes if you have a valid work permit like OPT
Are you an alien authorized to work in the U.S.?
How should we answer this?
Yes you are due to your OPT…..



Quote:
"Existing work authorization required"
Does OPT count?
Yes OPT counts


Quote:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf

Can I (or all F-1 students) use this form
Yes you can if your employers ask you to fill it. They would tell you and give all forms you need. So don't worry.

For H1, can we work as part time? Like adjunct Professor/instructor?
Yes you can.

I recently saw this in a job application. If a company/college asks for this, how do I know they would like to sponsor for visa?
You negotiate and discuss it with them after they express intent to hire you.

How do I check?
Ask them when they express interest in you.
 
should i tell them i would be on OPT by the time they call me or email me and ask them for H1?
would some of them just take me for OPT but not help on H1?
adjunct Professor/instructor... they are like part time.. is that enough to live in US?
 
You want to know if they would sponsor you for HIB before taking the offer. If they would not, then you might take the offer while still searching for one which would sponsor. You don't want to waste time on a job which would not help you get a green card. When they call you for an interview, you can say you have a work permit valid for one year and would be needing sponsorship after that. But if there is a form online asking if you have a work permit, simply say yes and don't explain until the interview. You would not be telling a lie by saying yes. The thing is if you say no and trying talking about OPT, most don't know about it and would not even call you. So you don't want to limit your chances by telling them it is temporal …………If they know it is temporal ahead of time, they would just not call you even for an interview. But if they call you first, they might see you are a perfect fit and would be willing to sponsor.
 
a school actually told me they don't know what H1 is

and earlier, a law office lady told she had never heard about "expunge" and she sounds foreign :eek:
 
Most people in schools who would know about HIB sponsorship would be in HR department. Common average Americans don't know about the types of visas or immigration papers.......it does not surprise me. If a law office worker does not know about expunging or sealing records, then she might just be a receptionist and not a legal secretary. Try again..............
 
one more small thing

so correct me if i was wrong

F-1 > OPT > leaving USA and get H1b stamped on the passport then come for 3 years(is this one necessary?) > H1b expired after 3 years > go out and renew it again> then 3 more years, right?

so there would be no H1b visa on my passport for the first 3 years, right?

so after OPT, i have to go out of USA and have a H1b visa stamped ON my passport, right? and with the approved paperwork, right?




Or just as long as there is a legal status (F-1 or H1) on me, i would be ok with an expired visa?
 
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F-1 to OPT to HIB (you don't leave for the first approval. The length of approval varies but is most often three years or less. There would be no new stamp on your passport during this time). You leave only to go extend it after the first approval expires………..then come back for the next period……….usually three years (Now there would be some stamp or visa on passport from embassy). Then the law requires you would need to stay out of the US for a while after maxing out your time on HIB. However, there are some waivers and exceptions companies can do to get you to keep extending your HIB beyond the limits. See my previous post on limits.
 
Going out is one way of solving it..........But if you are working already on OPT before the gap then different companies have different legal ways of handling it. In some cases, it can be handled without you leaving.
 
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