advice - working p/t on CPT

Hi all and suzanne4,

my question was , to work on cpt (20 hrs or below) while in school full time,do we need to prove that we are unable to get by financially ? I am on F1 doing my RN program. my adviser told me that to work part time as student tech/cna after my 1st semester , I need to show proof of all this paperwork and get approved to work out of campus. for those of you who are working p/t did you have to go thru all this approval process? how does it work?

thnx for the input.

To get permission to work with the CPT, especially in the first year, you must show proof. Most do not use the CPT until their second year, as you only get so much time with the actual CPT, and then you will have no more time later on. You really do not want to use the CPT in the beginning of your program, see if you can get permission to work without using that.

Remember that when you come to the US on the F-1 visa, you are supposed to be able to have funds to support yourself, the reason for the CPT is to get the experience in your field, for its true meaning. Even the OPT requires permission, it is not automatic in all cases.

So, yes, you will need to go thru all of the paperwork. No shortcuts on it.