From Campus to OPT jobs in USA OPTnation

Securing an OPT job in the US job market is a challenge for OPT students, as in the beginning recruiters are hesitant to hire OPT students. The OPT students gain practical experience and apply for OPT jobs in the US job market. The market is a vast, dynamic structure where the students can find a variety of opportunities. There are many opportunities to get OPT jobs in USA, start exploring the market early, and get familiar with the online forums. The job market is highly competitive and it is important for the students to adopt a strategy. This will help them to organize the journey of job exploration, get assistance from professionals, and create a professional resume. 

OPT is Optional Practical Training a program that is designed to inculcate practical skills in the F1 visa students. The F1 visa allows international students to move to the USA, to pursue an academic course, followed by 12 months’ work program. For STEM OPT students the duration can be extended if approved by the USCIS. After working for 12 months this duration can be extended to 24 months more. This will help the OPT students to gain more effective knowledge and global exposure to their industry. The US job market and the exposure can build up a very strong foundation for OPT students. 

Who is Eligible for OPT jobs

·         International students must have a valid F1 visa.

·         They must be enrolled in a full-time course; the course must be in the English language. The program must be of one-year duration.

·         They must have a valid EAD Employment Authorization Document, that will allow them to grab jobs for OPT students in USA.

·         They must have a recommendation letter from the DSO Designated School Officer. After the recommendation, it becomes easier for OPT students.

·         Filing up the most important Form I-765, for getting OPT job in the US job market.

·         To abide by the guidelines and rules framed by the USCIS United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Types of OPT jobs

 

Though an F1 visa student who is looking for OPT jobs can opt for many opportunities. They can go for pre-completion OPT, Post-completion OPT, and STEM OPT jobs.

Pre-completion OPT

 

During pre-completion OPT the OPT students are allowed to have work exposure while the school is in session. They can work part-time jobs for 20 hours a week, which will help them acquire subject-related knowledge. And to work at a global level, also this will help them to build professional networking.

Post-completion OPT

 

During post-completion OPT, the OPT students get the opportunity to do full-time OPT jobs. After completing the academic course, the students get full-time job opportunities. This will give

them real exposure to the global market. The OPT students will get better opportunities to apply for full-time jobs under a different visa category such as H1B.

STEM OPT

The STEM OPT jobs will give the students an extension for their OPT job duration. After working for 12 months the duration can be extended for 24 months. This will give them 36 months, to work for OPT. This is a crucial experience stage; this will help the students to grab more opportunities and build social networks. Also, professional networking gets stronger and it helps them to work in the future. STEM OPT extension is given to students who are the students of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Tips to get OPT jobs in USA

 

● Prepare a professional resume - It is mandatory for OPT students to prepare a resume for getting OPT jobs in USA. The job market is highly competitive and there is an unsaid inclination of recruiters towards professional students. The right strategies will help the recruiters to build a strong team based on the resumes. The OPT students can get professional assistance from the team of OPTnation who will help them to modify and create a professional resume but also help them as per the recent market trends. The industry is fast and dynamic and there is a lot that is happening in hiring trends.

● Keep track of timeline - They must abide by the guidelines and rules of the USCIS. The OPT students must keep in mind the timeline framed by the USCIS. As it will help them to get things aligned at the right time. They get 90 days to search for OPT jobs, during this time they can look for jobs and get their EAD. Without an EAD the OPT students cannot get any job in the US job market. They also have to keep track of their EAD and job application status.

● Build professional networks - In the US job market students must build professional networks for their future job opportunities. They must be active in their social and professional networks. These networks are a source of decent job opportunities, these networks can be built through social media and job sites. Recruiters also contact the students for job opportunities and referrals. This will help them to get referrals for upcoming job opportunities.

● Professional assistance - OPTnation is an online forum that helps students to get jobs in their academics. The team at OPTnation will help international students to get jobs for OPT students in USA. The team helps the students to modify and create a professional resume for their job search. The team also helps the students through training sessions and mock interviews. This helps the students to boost their confidence and their knowledge about the industry.

Conclusion

·         The US job market is a vast, dynamic structure where international students can find a variety of opportunities. Those who move to the USA to pursue their academic courses are eligible for OPT jobs.

·         During OPT jobs the students can get job experience after working in pre-completion and post-completion OPT.

·         The STEM OPT students can get an extension in the OPT jobs after working for 12 months. They can work for 24 months after the approval of the USCIS.

·         The OPT students gain practical experience and apply for OPT jobs in the USA job market. However, they have to work in the right time frame and follow the guidelines of the USCIS. This will help them to file all the documents at the right time, also it will help them to grab decent job opportunities. There is a 90-day frame given to the OPT students for searching for an OPT job. Also to get their EAD without which they can get their OPT jobs.

·         The F1 visa allows international students to move to the USA, to pursue an academic course, but to have a full-time job opportunity the students must apply under a different visa category.

·         OPT students should prepare a resume to get a decent OPT job. The job market is highly competitive the OPT students can take professional assistance.

·         OPT students must be active in their social and professional networks. This will help them to find new networks. Which will potentially be a great source of decent job opportunities, job sites can also help F1 visa students pass through the job exploration journey.

·         The team at OPTnation helps the students to modify and create a professional resume. Which will attract more job offers, also the team assists the OPT students in their job search. The team also plans training sessions and mock interviews that will help the students become familiar with the hiring process going on in the US job market.