F1 On Campus Employment
Your F-1 student status permits you to work on campus at the university that issued your I-20 while you are enrolled in a full course of study. Your TTUHSC I-20 is your proof of work eligibility for on-campus employment at TTUHSC only. You must maintain F-1 status to be eligible for this employment benefit; maintaining status means that you are a full-time registered student (except for approved exceptions) in good academic standing with a valid I-20.
On-campus employment includes:
Examples of employment for TTUHSC
- Teaching assistant, research assistant, library student worker, etc.
Employment at an off-campus location which is educationally affiliated with TTUHSC
The educational affiliation must be associated with your academic department's established
curriculum or related to contractually funded projects at the post-graduate level,
and be an integral part of your educational program.
International Student Services (ISS) interprets this to mean that the employment itself
must be an integral part of your established curriculum. This particular definition
of on-campus employment is very rarely applied. Given the size of TTUHSC and its various
connections with many local and national organizations, it can be challenging to determine
if this definition is applicable. Please consult ISS for guidance.
According to immigrations rules you are allowed to work:
- part-time (20 hours per week or less) during semesters (semesters are set by the TTUHSC academic calendar and include finals).
- full-time (more than 20 hours per week) between semesters (see * below).
- full-time (more than 20 hours per week) during your annual vacation (see * below).
*While it is possible to work full-time on campus between semesters and during an annual vacation in relation to immigration rules, at TTU the campus rules generally do not allow students to work more than 20 hours per week during any time of the year for other reasons (unrelated to the immigration rules).
Your on-campus employment eligibility ends:
- when you graduate. It expires the last day of your final semester (per TTUHSC calendar), even if your I-20 expiration date is in the future.
- if you transfer to another university; your work authorization expires on the day of your SEVIS record release date.
- if you violate your F-1 status.
It is your responsibility to research and understand your on-campus work eligibility. It is generally not the job of TTUHSC staff outside of International Student Services (ISS) to thoroughly know the immigration regulations. It is possible you will be offered employment that you are not eligible to accept or for your employment eligibility to expire without your payroll coordinator notifying you. Be sure to review all information provided by ISS and consult ISS if you have any concerns or questions.