guides

United States Visa Guides, Part 1: Optional Practical Training

Working Artist

— 5 min read
United States Visa Guides, Part 1: Optional Practical Training

How can I stay working in the U.S. after I graduate as an F-1 international student? Your questions answered about OPT by real people

Securing documentation to live and work in the United States as an immigrant artist can be convoluted and increasingly difficult in our current era. Working Artist aims to not only gather government guidelines in a welcoming and accessible place, but also nuanced answers from individuals working in creative fields in a conversational, FAQ style. This is first in a series of guides on navigating United States visa applications for working artists, which will live on our new resource hub. It is a preliminary, living document, which we’ll continue to update as we source information from our community members and tune into the latest policies. 

The transition from student to working artist can be challenging in the face of shifting visa requirements. This guide is designed to offer clarity by sharing individual experiences and tips for general information purposes. Since it does not constitute legal advice regarding OPT, when in doubt, consult a designated school officer (DSO).

What is OPT, and what are the types?

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a temporary employment authorization granted to eligible F-1 international students in the United States, allowing us to gain practical experience in our field of study. 

There are two main types of OPT. STEM OPT Extension is a 24-month extension available to students who earned a degree in a designated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) field. To qualify, the student must be employed by an E-Verify registered employer and meet specific reporting and training requirements. 

Post-Completion OPT is available to all F-1 students after they complete their degree program. It provides up to 12 months of work authorization in a job directly related to their major field of study. This guide will focus on Post-Completion OPT. 

How many hours a week do I have to work on Post Completion OPT? 

20 hours. You can overlap and combine multiple jobs to meet this requirement. 

“I freelanced full-time but needed to supplement my finances by also taking on an internship for 24 hours a week. On average, I worked about 48 hours a week.”

Do I need to be paid for all my gigs? 

No! You can also opt to do volunteer/pro-bono work as long as you meet the 20-hour requirement and the work is related to your field of study. 

“I primarily took on paid work as I am not able to afford unpaid work. I initially took on some volunteer design projects just to build up my portfolio and meet my weekly hourly requirements.”

How does freelancing work?

You’ll need to follow the rules of having more than 20 hours of work per week to be ‘full time’ and meet requirements. This breaks down to four hours of work per day if we’re talking about a five-day work week. 

“Each week, I would spend around 20 hours freelancing. This included design work, developing my portfolio, looking for new clients, updating current clients and managing my time.”

How do I know if my job relates to my field of study? 

This can be a little difficult when thinking about creative work. The system in which you log each job will ask you to write a short statement to justify why your job relates to your field of study. Since creative jobs are often a little less defined as other work, we can use this to our advantage: what are the hard skills / soft skills you gained from your major, are you using it in this job? Did you happen to take a course or pursue a minor related to your job? 

“I made a brainstorm of all the soft and hard skills I gathered from my major, the individual courses I took, and also my minor. This allowed me to broaden the scope of work I could look for and apply to.”

This is a living document that will be updated as policies change. We always remain open to contributions from our community. Have a tip or personal experience to share regarding visa applications? Or, have a question regarding visa applications you’d like answered? Write in to us: workingartist2000@gmail.com. Quotes will be kept anonymous to ensure the privacy and safety of our contributors. 

What documents do I need from clients if I’m freelancing?

It’s good practice to make a contract and have clients sign it. Sometimes your clients will have a contract for you to sign. Either way, it is important to review it to ensure you understand how you are protected and what your rights are. More importantly, it is important to get a letter to prove that you did the work stating the dates you’ve worked (whether it’s a one day shoot or a months long project). 

“I always made sure to get a signed letter stating that I actually did the work I did! I found it quite daunting to ask for a contract to be signed at first, but now I find it hard to begin work without one. My contract focused on payment terms and ownership of the work I made. This also helps with the client relationship as it keeps both parties protected.”

What type of work/responsibilities count as freelance? 

When freelancing, you are working for yourself and running your own business. So aside from the actual creative work you might be doing, any time spent looking for clients, managing your finances for your business, or even developing your portfolio and brand contributes to this work. 

“Aside from work for my clients, I would say a lot of freelancing involved behind-the-scenes work of seeking clients, maintaining communication, and working on keeping my own brand updated.”

How do I prove my freelance work? 

Letters of employment! If you are solely working for yourself, try to keep a log of what you worked on each day or a list of clients & projects. 

Do I need to be paid for all my gigs? 

For post-completion OPT, No! You can do volunteer work and other unpaid gigs.

As Working Artist continues to build out our guides on different types of visas, please take a look at a growing list of additional, external resources regarding the larger topic below: 

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