What is an F-1 visa? What is OPT?

The F-1 visa is the most common type of student visa in the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act provides two non-immigrant visa categories for persons wishing to study in the United States. The "F" visa is reserved for non-immigrants wishing to pursue academic studies and/or language training programs. F-1 visa is given only through "academic" institutions. Vocational education is not included in F1 visa. For vocational education, an M visa should be obtained.

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) and under certain extreme circumstances. Students are permitted to work for a total of 12 months towards practical training (eg. internship), which can be distributed between Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT), provided the student maintains a good academic standing. The student's academic and international office adviser must certify that the work is necessary towards the completion of his or her degree.

F-2 (dependent) visas 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.

What is the Optional Practical Training?

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a period during which undergraduate and graduate students in F-1 status who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for more than 9 months are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work for at most one year on a student visa without needing to acquire a work H-1B visa towards getting a practical training to complement their field of studies. F-1 students are permitted total of 12 months towards practical training, on being certified by the advisor of the usefulness of the work towards goals of the degree, which can be distributed between Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and OPT. The OPT permit card (employment authorization document) can be obtained from USCIS before completion of a degree program through the university's International Student Office or equivalent upon filing of the relevant form (I-765), payment of fee, and sending copies of I-20, passport, visa and other required documentation. The process can take up to 4 months to complete.

Unlike curricular practical training, the school does not have to approve of or monitor the student's progress while employed. The student must have pursued a full-time course of study for nine consecutive months prior to obtaining optional practical training and is limited to one year of employment.

Optional practical training may only be pursued at the following four times during a course of study: 1) during the school year while classes are in session (part-time only), 2) during the times when school is not in session (i.e. summer vacations or other regularly scheduled vacations), 3) after all course requirements are completed if the student is pursuing a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree and 4) after the degree is obtained.

The student must apply to the INS for an employment authorization document. S/he must have the EAD in hand before starting work – the notice from the INS confirming receipt of the application for the EAD is not enough. The EAD would be a List A document for I-9 purposes. An important item to remember with optional practical training is that if the INS grants work authorization for optional practical training and the student decides not to work or cannot find employment they have lost their opportunity to pursue optional practical training in the future and they will not be able to apply later. In addition, the employment should be related to the student's field of study.

No Social Security or Medicare taxes, except federal and state income taxes, are applicable on income earned during OPT.

What is Curricular Practical Training?

This type of employment is available to a student as long as it is related to the student's course of study, such as an internship/externship coordinated between the school and the employer, or is mandated by the school in order to fulfill the degree requirements. In order to be eligible for curricular practical training, the student must have completed nine months of study at the undergraduate level. There is no such eligibility requirement for a graduate student.

The employment opportunity must qualify for academic credit and be listed in the course description book as employment with a purpose of promoting hands-on experience where a faculty member monitors the progress of the student. While there is no limit to the time a student may be employed in curricular practical training, if the student remains in curricular practical training full time for more than twelve months he/she will later be ineligible for optional practical training.

The student may be authorized for curricular practical training by the designated school official who writes the authorization on the back of the student's I-20 form. The student does not need to apply for an employment authorization document from the INS in order to start curricular practical training. This annotation on the back of the Form I-20 is a work authorization document for purposes of List C of the I-9 form.

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.

We have attached here a sample of CPT form from the University of Buffalo in New York. The form is in pdf. wings.buffalo.edu/intlservices/pdf_files/cpt.pdf

April 4th, 2008: SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) NOTE:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released today an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students. The extension will be available to students who are employed by businesses enrolled in the E-Verify program. E-Verify is a free internet-based system operated by USCIS, in partnership with the Social Security Administration, which determines a new employee's eligibility to work.

General Provisions:

F-1 students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields and granted initial post-completion OPT are now eligible to apply for a one-time extension for 17 additional months, a maximum of 29 months.

STEM students need to file form I-765. The form is being amended to capture information needed to determine student eligibility.

F-1 students who file for a STEM extension prior to the end date of their post completion OPTs may continue employment while the application is pending, or for 180 days, whichever is shorter.

Approved extensions allow for students to remain working for the STEM employer on the new EAD. If denied, the student must make preparations to depart or transfer to another school to continue studying.

To be eligible for the 17-month OPT extension, a student must have received a STEM degree in one of the following:

Actuarial Science. Computer Science Applications. Engineering. Engineering Technologies. Life Sciences. Mathematics. Military Technologies. Physical Sciences.

Cap Gap:

"Cap-gap" occurs when an academic foreign student's (F-1) status and work authorization expire during the current fiscal year before the student can start approved H-1B employment during the next fiscal year beginning on October 1.

This new interim final rule provides a permanent solution to the H-1B "cap-gap". Previous cap-gap provisions extended only the stay but not the employment authorization.

F-1 classified nonimmigrant students whose employer has filed an H-1B petition on their behalf and whose petition is selected, may now receive an extended/authorized stay for employment.

This has been applauded by many students, tech groups, and many foreign-based companies, but however, a big population has been left out. There are many non-science majors that feel like they are left-out by this interim law.

One problematic aspect of the rule for many students is that the new 90 day cap on total unemployment days (for none science majors). The past practice of many students have been to use the OPT year to remain in the US while searching for jobs, this new rule if effected will severely hamper these job search efforts, which previously could last the whole year.

Another problematic aspect of the 17 month OPT extension is the fact that as of April 2008, only 1% of all U.S. employers are using E-verify. E-verify is free and provides a convenient way of checking for employee's work eligibility, reducing the risks to the company. However, the company, once enrolled, is obliged to use it for all new hires, citizen or non-citizen. This presents a slight modification to the current procedures and requires a small amount of new HR training. Also, some human resource activists have claimed that the E-verify database contains errors. U.S. Government has been working on improving the robustness of the database; it is currently used for all new hires by 60,000 businesses nationwide. Big employers with many OPTs are likely to join E-verify. Some smaller employers might be more hesitant. Therefore, even if a student's degree is in STEM, he or she might not qualify for the OPT extension because the employer will not be willing to join E-verify. In some cases, an OPT student might be up for an uphill battle with the employer who wants to retain the OPT student, but at the same time does not want to join E-verify.

Preparing a Resume

Someone told me my resume must be one page.  Is that true?

The resume should be as long as it needs to be. The more information you provide will help to better assess your work ethic and background. Include all colleges you've attended after high school and all job experiences within the last 10 years. The most important information should be on the first page. Highlight special training and techniques in which you have taken classes.

Should I include references in my resume? What should I exclude from the resume?

Exclude references, photos, and personal information (hobbies, marital status, children, religious affiliations)

Should I include a cover letter with my resume? What should it say?

You should include a cover letter. It should describe why you are writing (ex. to respond to an ad for a staff position), point out your experience and education, personal skills (such as social skills, your availability or willingness to relocate), and indicate the best way to contact you.

Can I send resumes to search for a position that is not advertised?

Yes, you can send resume to find positions in specific areas in physical therapy and follow up with a phone call.

Lastly, proofread your resume and cover letter. Be sure they are absolutely perfect (no typos or misspelling, nothing out of alignment or in different fonts).    

Choosing an Agency to Sponsor you for a Visa

In choosing the best agency, you have to consider a few things.

1. Do they sponsor for H1b/Greencard/Both?

Ideal world: sponsored for H1b and Greencard concurrently

H1b allows you to work after 14 days (with premium processing and if the H1b quota is not yet reached). H1b is valid for 3 years. You have to work for the same employer (employer who sponsored you) for 3 years.

Green card allows you to work for 10 years and can be converted to U.S. citizenship if you desire. Green card also requires you to work for your sponsor only the first 6 months of sponsorship. After that (with employment authorization), you can work wherever you want. However, it generally takes 6 to 8 months to process, sometimes even longer. Having both makes is very convenient.

Real world: Most agencies sponsor for H1b. They will offer to sponsor you for green card after 6 months of employment. This is a fair deal

Bottom line: Try to get a green card sponsorship as soon as you can.

2.      How long is the contract?

Ideal world: No contract

Real world: Most agencies offer a contract of 2-3 years. A two-year contract is considered fair.

Bottom line: Try to get the shortest contract possible

3.      How much is the salary?

Ideal world: 50,000-55,000 dollars for a new grad depending on the location

Real world: The rate of pay is fixed in accordance with labor certification mandates specific for each state= approximately 20-24 per hour. This is somewhere around 40-45,000 a year on a 40 hour work week. 45,000-50,000 dollars would be fair depending on the location.

Bottom line: Aim as high as you can but not too much that you will scare the employer away. Don’t ask for more than 60,000 dollars for a fresh grad. Also remember that the cost of living is different for different locations even if it is in the same state.

4.      How much is the breach of contract?

Ideal world: none, no payment from both parties

Real world: Agencies usually charge between 2,000 to 5,000 dollars for breach of contract. Some contracts will allow you to pay less after a certain period of time. Some contracts require you to pay more than 50,000 dollars. A fixed sum of about 2,000-5,000 dollars explicitly stated in your contract is considered fair.

Bottom line: Ask a lawyer to review your contract. Make sure you don’t sign off all your earning and your future earnings. Also, some contracts cannot be enforced. This might be because it is against the federal or state laws. Make sure that everything is clearly stated in your contract.

5.      What are the benefits?

Ideal world: at least 2-3 weeks vacation time which may or may not include Holidays, Personal days and Sick days. Medical and Dental insurance after 4-6 months of hire; tuitions reimbursement/ exam fees reimbursement are all good benefits.

Real world: Most agencies provide at least 2 weeks of vacation time and 5 holidays. Medical insurance is usually covered after 4 to 6 months of employment.

Bottom line: The more benefits you can get the better. Remember however that since they are sponsoring you for H1b or green card, it is difficult to ask for too much.

6.      How much are the fees?

Ideal world: Fixed price 1,000-5,000 dollars a year.

Real world: Most agencies earn by salary deduction. They will give you a pre-determined hourly rate and charge the facility 2-3x your hourly rate.

Bottom line: As long as your workload is not excessive, and that you get a fair wage, all is fair. They need to make money, too. It is their business. Remember working for agencies is only a temporary situation. Good luck!

Immigration

For more information, click on this link to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Proficiency Exams

For more information, click on this link to Educational Testing Service.

Credentialing Agencies

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) for Physical Therapists with Deficiencies in General Education Courses

The College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP) gives you the opportunity to receive college credit for what you already know by earning qualifying scores on any of 34 examinations. Earn credit for knowledge you've acquired through independent study, prior course work, on-the-job training, professional development, cultural pursuits, or internships.

The cost of a CLEP exam is $65, a fraction of the tuition and fees for the corresponding course. Most colleges and universities grant credit for CLEP exams, but not all. There are 2,900 institutions that grant credit for CLEP and each of them sets its own CLEP policy; in other words, each institution determines for which exams credit is awarded, the scores required and how much credit will be granted. Therefore, before you take a CLEP exam, check directly with the college or university you plan to attend to make sure that grants credit for CLEP and review the specifics of its policy.

Not all colleges award the same amount of CLEP credit for individual tests. Furthermore, some colleges place a limit on the total amount of credit you can earn through CLEP or other exams. Other colleges may grant you exemption but no credit toward your degree. Knowing several colleges' policies concerning these issues may help you decide which college to attend. If you think you can pass a number of CLEP exams, you may want to attend a college that will allow you to earn credit for all or most of them.

The College-Level Examination Program has a policy that candidates may not repeat a CLEP exam of the same title within six months. Scores of exams repeated earlier than six months will be canceled and test fees forfeited.

Colleges usually award CLEP credit only to their enrolled students. There are other stipulations, however, that vary from college to college. CLEP exams are administered at approximately 1,300 test centers located on college campuses across the United States and around the world. Find one near you using the CLEP Test Centers search. Then, contact the test center directly to find out its registration procedure. Be sure to ask about its service fee and testing schedule, and parking/transportation information.

Editor’s note:

CLEP is useful when you are already here in the United States since most of the courses here cost a lot more than $65. However, if you are still in your country, a good option will be to study at your local accredited college to make up for these deficiencies.

CLEP testing centers are located all over the world. Visit their website for more details at www.collegeboard.com

Reference:

College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

P.O. Box 6600
Princeton, NJ 08541-6600
Phone: (800) 257-9558
Fax: (609) 771-7088
Email: clep@info.collegeboard.org

Social Security Number for Non-Citizens or Foreign Workers

Updated March 2008

To apply for a Social Security number and card, complete an application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5); and show original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency proving: U.S. citizenship or immigration status [including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) permission to work in the United States];

Age; and Identity.

Then, take or mail your completed application and documents to your local Social Security office.

Citizenship or immigration status:

They only accept certain documents as proof of U.S. citizenship. These include a U.S. birth certificate, U.S. consular report of birth, U.S. passport, Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, Social Security will ask to see your current U.S. immigration documents. Acceptable documents include your:

• Form I-551 (includes machine-readable immigrant visa with your unexpired foreign passport);
• I-94 with your unexpired foreign passport; or
• Work permit card from the Department of Homeland Security (I-766 or I-688B).
• International students must present further documentation. For more information, see International Students And Social Security Numbers (Publication No. 05-10181).

Age: You must present your birth certificate if you have it or can easily obtain it. If not, they can consider other documents, such as your passport to prove age.

Identity: An acceptable document must be current (not expired) and show your name, identifying information and preferably a recent photograph. Social Security will ask to see a U.S. driver’s license, state-issued nondriver identification card or U.S. passport as proof of identity. If you do not have the specific documents they ask for, they will ask to see other documents including:

• Employee ID card;
• School ID card;
• Marriage document;
• Health insurance card (not a Medicare card);
• U.S. military ID card;
• Adoption decree; or
• Life insurance policy.

All documents must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. They cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents. They may use one document for two purposes. For example, they may use your U.S. passport as proof of both citizenship and identity. Or, they may use your U.S. birth certificate as proof of age and citizenship. However, you must provide at least two separate documents.

They will mail your number and card as soon as they have all of your information and have verified your documents with the issuing offices.

There is no charge for a Social Security number and card.

They issue three types of Social Security cards. All cards show your name and Social Security number.

1. The first type of card shows your name and Social Security number and lets you work without restriction.

2. The second type of card shows your name and number and notes, “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION.”

3. The third type of card shows your name and number and notes, “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT.”

Reference:

Your Social Security Number And Card

SSA Publication No. 05-10002, October 2006 (Recycle prior editions), ICN 451384

Retrogression and the Schedule A Profession

On November 1, 2006, the Department of State enacted retrogression for Schedule A nurses and physical therapists. Retrogression refers to the resulting delay in obtaining an immigrant visa when there are more people applying for immigrant visas in a given year than the total number of visas available. The applicant cannot file an Application to Adjust Status (Form I-485) or obtain an immigrant visa by attending an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Consulate abroad. Applicants must wait in line until the immigrant visa becomes available.

For Schedule A petitions, the priority date is the date the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (form I-140) was received by the USCIS. Each month, the U.S. Department of State issues a “Visa Bulletin” which announces the priority dates eligible for immigrant visas in each category. This information can be found at the U.S. Department of State website http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4177.html

Immigrant visa petitions for Schedule A occupations generally fall within the “EB-3” category. This category has been “retrogressed” since 2005. An applicant in this category must have a priority date of April 22, 2001 to July 1, 2005 depending upon their country of birth. However, legislation passed in 2005 allocated an additional 50,000 immigrant visas specifically for Schedule A petitions and created a new EB-3 subcategory, “EX” for these visas. Unfortunately, this special allocation of 50,000 immigrant visas is exhausted. The priority date for the EX category is October 1, 2005. Therefore, as of November 1, 2005, an applicant for an immigrant visa based upon a Schedule A petition would have needed to have filed the I-140 petition on or before October 1, 2005 to be immediately eligible for an immigrant visa.

U.S. Consulates will not assign interview dates and will not be able to issue immigrant visas to Nurses and Physical Therapists until retrogression for Schedule A category (“EX”) is resolved. As of November 1, 2005, the ability to “concurrently file” the I-140 and I-485 will be temporarily unavailable. An I-140 petition can still be filed, but the Application to Adjust Status (Form I-485) which provides authorization to remaining the United States and eligibility for employment authorization cannot be filed.

Reference:

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. www.uscis.gov

“Before contacting the USCIS, USCIS may be able to help you if you have a question about immigration procedures, or need clarification, by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833). This toll-free call center has additional information and, during their specified office hours, can connect you to live assistance in English and Spanish. The NCSC will be able to answer most questions - although they cannot provide information about the status of your case over the telephone.”

PTSponsor.com does not warrant the accuracy or validity of the information and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the site. PTSponsor.com also is not responsible for any material or information contained in the linked sites provided. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of any relationship.

Deficiency Make-Up Program

DMP stands for Deficiency Make-up Program, a special program designed exclusively for HCMI Physical Therapist candidates who eventually want to practice Physical Therapy in the US.

This program is usually applicable to physical therapists trained in India who lack general education credits and are deemed equivalent with professional education credits.

The DMP was inaugurated in April, 2006 and they are currently pursuing their third batch of students at the Bishop Heber College in Southern India. The DMP as an intensive six-month long program is divided into two or three terms. All the terms will entail rigorous instruction in the General Education courses mentioned above. On the other hand, DMP candidates will receive a 7-10 day holiday period during the six -month long DMP program. They currently charge three thousand dollars ($3,000) for the six month program.

DMP guarantees that your education will be equivalent to that of a US Physical Therapist; your eligibility to pass a credential evaluation in over 30 states; your application will be done in the fastest and cheapest way possible.

Editor’s Note:

This is actually not the fastest the cheapest way possible. You can take the courses you are deficient on any accredited local college. Also, depending on the state boards, you can take CLEP. CLEP exams just cost $65 dollars. There are more than 1000 testing centers worldwide. For more information, see our article about CLEP.

Reference:

DMP. Taken from http://www.hcmieducation.org.

If you have deficiencies in your credits, here are the following things you can do:

1. Talk to the credentialing agency. Ask them what you can do so that you can be at par with the U.S. standard. Usually, credentialing agencies have suggestions such as taking a continuing education course, taking an online course, going back to college (we hope you will not resort to this) and so forth…
2. Contact your school to provide evidence that this deficiency was already taken. There are two types of deficiencies: a.) You do not have enough credit units. b.) You did not have supporting documents to prove that you indeed took the course.  Your school can help you in both situations.

For example, your credentialing report states that you only have 67 professional units and you lack geriatric rehabilitation.

The state you are applying for requires 69 professional units. As you were reading your report, you noticed that they did not credit you for undergraduate thesis, a 3-credit course. You can ask your school to provide them a letter that your undergraduate thesis is equivalent to a U.S. course called Research Methods. Assuming a multiplying factor of 1 foreign credit is to 0.75 U.S. credit, you will gain 2.25 credits on your credentialing report. This will raise your units into 69.25.

How about the deficient course? As with the example above, the credentialing agency did not credit you for geriatric rehabilitation. You know very well that you took this course in one of your subjects but with a different name. Maybe, you took it on Medical-Surgical Lectures? Medical Rehabilitation Lectures? Theory and Technique? It is up to you. You try to think clearly which subject you took geriatric rehabilitation and ask you school to provide evidence that this subject is indeed taken on a particular course with a different name.

3. Contact your state board. You have contacted your school and you still have a few subjects deficient… You contacted the credentialing agency and they said that they have reviewed the additional documentation you have provided, however, it is still not at par with the U.S. standard. The next step is to contact the state board.

For example, the credentialing report states that you lack wound debridement (integumentary rehabilitation) and pharmacology. You are sure that you did not take this course on your undergraduate degree. Ask them if you can take a continuing education course, or an online course. Some state boards will allow you to take a continuing education course. This is very helpful when you are in the U.S. There are a lot of wound debridement courses around (because of the certification to become a certified wound specialist). Also, there is a lot of online continuing education available. For example, A.T. Still University caters to students applying for a physical therapy license who lack some credits. The courses taken in A.T. Still University are purely online.  You can easily take a pharmacology course with them and finish it in 6 weeks.

Remember! Before you take any course, be sure to check with the state board first. They will ultimately decide if they will accept an online course or not. There are times that credentialing agencies won’t accept a course but the state board will. Follow the state board, they have the authority to grant you the physical therapy license.

(This article was submitted by a reader. We are deleting our old median wage article, we have also changed the title to Mean Wage)