On campus employment refers to work that is paid for by UC Santa Cruz, such as a teaching or research assistantship, dining hall worker, library aide, and so forth.
Eligibility
To be eligible for on campus employment work authorization, you must:
- Be in valid J-1 status currently
- Have checked in at ISSP at the beginning of your program
- Be a full-time registered student (you are not eligible after your DS-2019 end date)
- Work for an ‘on campus’ employer as described below
- Maintain valid documents
- J-1 students will be required to obtain permission prior to the beginning of employment. Complete a request via iGlobal.
Authorization/work permit
J-1 students must have authorization from their J-1 program sponsor for any on-campus employment before beginning work. If their DS-2019 was issued by UCSC, they must log into iGlobal, select and complete the On-campus Employment Authorization form with their employer. If your DS-2019 was issued by another sponsor, (eg. Fulbright, CAPES), please check in with that agency about the authorization procedure for on-campus employment.
What is considered ‘on-campus’ employment?
For immigration purposes, on-campus employment includes:
- Work done on school premises that provide direct service to students and/or the campus (dining hall, research assistant, coffee shop attendant, landscape crew, etc.), including paid and unpaid positions.
Work hours
J-1 international students are eligible to work on-campus for up to 20 hours/week during the academic year and full-time during vacation or break periods. Once you complete your studies, you are no longer eligible to be employed on-campus without special additional authorization, i.e. Academic Training (AT). As long as you meet all Curricular Practical Training (CPT) eligibility requirements and you are fully enrolled for the term, you are allowed to do both CPT and on-campus employment for up to 20 hours per week each.
Multiple jobs
You can have multiple jobs, but cannot work more than 20 hours per week total when school is in session. For example, if you are employed 15 hours/week as a Teaching Assistant, you can only work 5 more hours per week in another on-campus job.
Not sure if a job is on-campus?
If you have been offered a job and are not sure whether it is on-campus or not, or whether it qualifies as employment, contact an ISSP advisor at istudent@ucsc.edu.