At the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO), students can find resources to guide them in their search for jobs and internships.

Students from foreign countries who want to study at a college or university in the United States, like Iowa State, require a student visa to live and study in the country. This requires possessing an F-1 or a J-1 visa to be enrolled, which determines an international student’s employment authorization, according to ISSO’s website.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an F-1 visa is granted to international students who are enrolled full-time at an accredited university and are working towards a degree, diploma or certificate of completion. A J-1 visa is for students who are sponsored by an exchange program that is “designated as such by the U.S. Department of State.”

“As an F-1 student, you are eligible to work in internships and co-ops through CPT, and also you may be eligible to work 1-3 years after graduating without requiring sponsorship through OPT and the STEM OPT extension,” according to the ISSO’s website. “J-1 students must have Academic Training (AT) in place before engaging in any off-campus employment.”

Elliot Uhl, the interim director of the ISSO, told the Daily that the process international students go through to find employment has many options.

“If [international students] are looking to do an internship or co-op during their academic program, once they have been offered a job offer… they work with their academic department or career services to get enrolled in a [curricular practical training] course, and then they work with ISSO to get work authorization,” Uhl said.

Uhl also encouraged international students to take advantage of the resources that are available to them through ISSO and their college’s career services office.