American Route

If you are not in the US or not planning to go to the US in near future for MS, this might not be of any help to you. If you are planning for H1-B please scroll down to H1-B section

Masters of?

Classes, Assignments, Part Time, Cooking, Household work, Skype/FaceTime/Calling Card repeat

This is pretty much what you would do in your student life apart from few road trips or relatives visit once in a while (obviously upload in Facebook for folks back home to ‘like’). Is it a tough nut to crack, not exactly but it would be overwhelming if you never been away from Mom’s pampers and Dad’s money. Things to note

Assignments: You cannot copy from your friend’s master copy — Plagiarism alert!!!

Even if you decide to copy (which most of the desi folks plan on doing at least till someone gets into serious trouble) please, customize it and make sure you are not blatantly copying from some internet source.

PS: Serious trouble indicates Deportation, F grade, Expelled from university etc. so yes they are pretty serious about it

Part Time: Thanks to our cousins, movies, and various other sources it is assumed that you can actually work in a restaurant or gas station (read petrol bunk). It is illegal

So why do we hear lots of stories about our people working ‘off-campus’? It is because a lot of them still work anyway.

Does it matter?

To some extent yes, recent news show a lot of students were deported because they were working in Indian restaurants and/or Gas stations. You might have read/watched/heard about Indian students shot in grocery stores and these are due to off-campus jobs at locations which are not safe enough.

It is not recommended but come on, who cares for law and rules right? Most universities and the government, allows you to work officially on-campus for 20hours/week (and up to 40 hours during summer). You are usually not exploited and paid at least minimum wage but opportunities are scarce. Of course you have various sorts of funding like Teaching Assistance, Graduate Research Assistance, and Lab Assistance. Which are highly paid, improves your resume and knowledge. Also, you can apply for Social Security Card (SSN) which is useful for building your credit history, only when you work legally.

Internships: As per wiki, an internship is a ‘job training’ for white-collar and professional careers.

Why are internships important?

1. Helps you gain real job experience in the US (even if you are actually just bringing donuts to colleagues, trust me it helps)

2. You earn decent amount of money — some interns earn more than many full-time employees (Forbes article)

3. You can make contacts, improve your network that will open doors when you are looking for full-time opportunities

Why do few people do internships?

1. It is tough to get one. You need — patience, network, pretty good resume, and skills

2. Preconceived opinions and lack of awareness

What is CPT?

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is temporary employment authorization for F-1 visa non-immigrant foreign students in the United States while enrolled in a college-level degree program.

To be able to join a firm in an intern role, you must have valid CPT. CPT can be obtained from USCIS in association with your university. Each university has its own rules here is the first link I found in google for ‘How to apply for CPT’

Beware of universities that advertise about CPTs or grant CPTs on day 1 — usually they are black listed or being monitored to be black listed (again first link from google on CPT Abuse)

What next?

Congrats!! You have successfully graduated with Masters (Ask your friend who owns DLSR to take a nice display pic). So what next?

If you already have a job offer — you are good to go!

Apply for Post Completion OPT here is the first link from google, it is usually similar for most universities (It is recommended to check with International office for more specific processes). OPT is a 12 month period.

Students have 60 days to file Post-completion OPT. After receiving the OPT, you have another 90 days to get a job offer. One can apply for OPT months before graduating, so that they can start work immediately after graduation. OPT is a work authorization card, which is a mandatory document for employment in the US.

Job search tools:

Internet and Laptop are your best friends. Apply as many jobs as possible on as many job posting websites. Most of the positions require 2–3 years of experience and it is practically impossible finding a suitable job that matches your resume, if you do not have any job experience. Do not get dejected, many firms consider ‘Master’s degree’ as 2 years of job experience. Apply for million jobs, attend career fairs, improve your network, and talk to relatives/friends/acquaintance/enemy/uncle’s neighbor any person you could possibly think of. Make connections through LinkedIn. Attend any networking events or join professional associations. Get required certifications that could get that one call you could convert. Do not be choosy, unless you have lot of opportunities. It will take months but you will get something. Stay Positive!

So what are these consultancies everyone talks about?

Thanks to social media 90% of the students who schedule a visa interview for the US, already know about consultancies and how easy it is to get a job after graduation. Here is a definition from wiki about a consultant.

A consultant is usually an expert or an experienced professional in a specific field and has a wide knowledge of the subject matter. External consultant — someone who is employed externally to the client (either by a consulting firm or some other agency) whose expertise is provided on a temporary basis, usually for a fee.

How does a fresh out of the university graduate turn into an expert?

Let’s just say people are creative!

Advantages:

1. Job search is outsourced

2. An offer letter from consulting firms can help you meet OPT rules

Disadvantages:

1. Could be overwhelming

2. Might create issues with Visas and new STEM rules

3. Projects are temporary and could be short term. One can be unemployed and unpaid

OPT STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Extension:

A recent change on March 11, 2016 to the rules increased the STEM OPT period from 17 months to 24 months. A student who graduated with a STEM degree can get a maximum of 12 months of regular OPT and 24 months of STEM Extension, which is a total of 3 years of work permit on F1 (student visa) without any professional visa. However, the increase of STEM extension had been both sweet and sore. USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) introduced additional rules to be eligible for the STEM Extension of OPT. Please find sample rules format from one of the university, it could be more than this. It is still up in the air and could take about a year to understand the rules completely. As STEM signifies, MBA degree do not fall under STEM category and students with MBA degree are eligible only for regular OPT

New rules for STEM OPT Employer:

If you are an employer who wants to provide a practical training opportunity to a STEM OPT student during his or her extension, you must:

· Be enrolled in E-Verify and remain in good standing.

· Report material changes to the STEM OPT student’s employment to the DSO within 5 business days.

· Implement a formal training program to augment the student’s academic learning through practical experience.

· Provide an OPT opportunity that is commensurate with those of similarly situated U.S. workers in duties, hours, and compensation.

· Complete the Form I-983, Training Plan for STEM OPT Students. In this form, you must attest that:

o You have enough resources and trained personnel available to appropriately train the student;

o The student will not replace a full- or part-time, temporary or permanent U.S. worker; and

o Working for you will help the student attain his or her training objectives.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may visit your worksite(s) to verify whether you are meeting the STEM OPT program requirements, including whether you are maintaining the ability and resources to provide structured and guided work-based learning experiences for the STEM OPT student. For more information, please refer to the DHS STEM OPT Hub.

· Many employers are not exactly sure what ‘Form I-983’ is and are reluctant

· Students who are granted a 24-month STEM OPT extension is allowed an additional 60 days of unemployment beyond the initial post-completion OPT limit. This means that students who obtain a 24-month STEM OPT extension will receive, for a total of 150 days of allowable unemployment, 90 days during the initial period of post-completion OPT plus an additional 60 days during the extension period..

· Students cannot be employed on part time basis by any temp agencies. STEM OPT extension applicants must select employers that can guarantee the student will complete a minimum of 20 hours of work per week and provide the student with formal training and learning objectives.

H1-B Visa:

Wiki definition — The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. Some important points-

· USCIS starts accepting applications for H1-B visas on April 1st of every year (ironic isn’t it)

· Maximum limit for H1-B visas in general category is 65,000 per year

· Maximum limit for H1-B visas in Advanced degree category (foreign nationals with Master’s or higher degree from US institutions) is 20,000 per year

· If USCIS receives more than the maximum number of applications for a year, they use a random computer generated selection process to pick application — infamously called as H1-lottery. The selection process is absolutely random — even though there are a lot of rumors floating around, USCIS selection process is a black box

· A H1-B visa is valid for a maximum of 6 years. Non-immigrants should either apply for permanent residency (Green Card) or must leave the country after 6 year period

· H1-B visas can be applied by any US employer or employer with a subsidiary in the US for foreign nationals both in the US or out of the country

· Foreign nationals not in the US must attend a face to face interview at the US embassy to obtain H1-B stamping on their passport

· Foreign nationals in the US must attend a face to face interview at the US embassy if they are travelling out of the country

For more information follow Understanding H1-B requirements

Foreign nationals on H1-B visa:

· H1-B holding employer must be the direct employer of the employee, who runs the payroll and manages the employee’s assignments

· A non-immigrant on H1-B visa cannot work in a paid position with any employer other than the employer holding H1-B visa

· A H1-B visa transfer must be initiated to switch employers while on H1-B visa. The process can be initiated without any knowledge of the current employer

· A non-immigrant on H1-B visa cannot be unemployed during the visa for more than 10days — although it is not explicitly mentioned anywhere, it is recommended to switch employer within 10days or leave the country

· If the non-immigrant is a consultant working in client locations, a H1-B amendment must be filed when the client is changed (more than 50 miles from current client location)

· Dependents of the non-immigrant are on H4 visa. Persons on H4 visa can be employed under few scenarios, refer link for more information

Green Card:

Categories of Green card that are not family related:

EB 1 –

· Applicant must exhibit extraordinary abilities in fields of Science, Arts, Business, Education, Sports etc.

· Usually PhD students with research that has been extensively used in industry, military or in other areas are granted Green card in EB1 category

· You must have been employed outside the United States in the 3 years preceding the petition for at least 1 year by a firm or corporation and you must be seeking to enter the United States to continue service to that firm or organization. Your employment must have been outside the United States in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the employer.

o Many Indian consulting companies like TCS, CTS, Wipro etc, have misused EB 1 category to apply Green card to mid-level managers, which triggered some friction couple of years ago

· EB 1 does not have long waiting periods, applicants can get Green cards in a year or two

EB 2 — The job you apply for must require an advanced degree and you must possess such a degree or its equivalent (a baccalaureate degree plus 5 years’ progressive work experience in the field).

· One of the most popular categories of Green card is EB 2

· Most students who have completed Masters in the US are eligible for Green card in EB 2 category. However, in rare scenarios, companies might not require the candidate to have advanced degree and thus apply in EB 3 category

· Most Desi consultancies apply Green cards in EB 2 category

· Current EB 2 priority date is November 2004. Refer link for more information regarding priority dates

EB 3 — “Skilled workers” are persons whose job requires a minimum of 2 years training or work experience. “Professionals” are persons whose job requires at least a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent and are a member of the professions

· Skilled professionals who do not have Masters from US or who do not meet the minimum years of experience fall into this category

· Many Indian IT companies use EB 3 category to apply permanent residency for their employees who do not have enough experience or advanced degree

· Applicants who have applied under EB 3 can move to EB 2 once, enough experience is obtained. Recently, EB 2 priority dates were impacted due to this transition.

· Current EB 3 priority date is October 2004

So