The F-1 visa is a non-immigrant, full-time, student visa that allows foreigners to pursue education in the United States. The F visa is reserved for non-immigrants wishing to pursue academic studies and/or language training programs. F-1 are given only through academic institutions. Vocational education is not included in F1 visa for vocational education, an M visa should be obtained.



Except for on-campus employment of 20 hours a week or lesser, F-1 students are generally not permitted to work in the US without prior authorization from Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). However, the USCIS may grant work authorization for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Students are permitted to work for a total of 40 months towards practical training (internship), which can be distributed between Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT). An interim order was passed recently,allowing students in STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics) to undergo OPT for 29 months.

F-2 (dependent) are given to families of an F-1 student. F-2 visa-holders are prohibited from any form of compensated employment. However, minor children may attend public schools. F1 Visa holders are under exempt tax status, for up to 5 years. So for the 5 years, they are considered Non Resident Aliens for Tax Purposes. They are exempt from FICA Taxes (Social Security and Medicare Taxes), and they need to file Tax Forms 1040NR And Form 8843. They can claim Tax Treaty benefits depending on their Resident Country. Improperly withheld taxes in OPT, CPT can be refunded by filing Form 843.

Many countries require possession of a valid passport and as a condition of entry for foreigners, though there exist exemptions (see below for examples of such schemes). Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter (or exit) a country, and are thus, for some countries, distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country.

Some countries require that their citizens, and sometimes foreign travelers, obtain an exit visa in order to be allowed to leave the country.Non-immigrant students in the United States (people in the United States with valid F-1 status) may apply for temporary employment authorization while enrolled in a college-level degree program.

This employment authorization is called Curricular Practical Training, or CPT. CPT permission is obtained through the university s International Students Office or equivalent upon approval of advisor, pursuant to Regulations established by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service. A language is a dynamic set of visual, auditory, or tactile symbols of communication and the elements used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon. Language is considered to be an exclusively human mode of communication; although other animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative systems, none of these are known to make use of all of the properties that linguists use to define language.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant in the United States under the Immigration & Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H).It allows U.S. employers to employ foreign guest workers in specialty occupations.

The regulations define a specialty occupation as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialities, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelors degree or its equivalent as a minimum.

Likewise, the foreign worker must possess at least a bacheloras degree or its equivalent and state licensure, if required to practice in that field. H-1B work-authorization is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer.