Practical Training
A student on an F-1 visa may be eligible to engage in temporary employment for practical training in his or her field of study, both before and after completion of studies. To be eligible for practical training, a student must have been in F-1 status for at least one academic year. Exceptions to the nine-month requirement can be granted to students assigned to concurrent internships which require immediate participation in Curricular Practical Training.
At this time, all employers (including churches) are required by law to certify that a particular employee is eligible for employment. This means that the intern or summer student must have a social security card, which is valid for employment purposes. The social security administration will not issue such a card until it is satisfied that authorization for employment has been granted. In addition, interns and summer students need to keep an eye on tax regulations and comply with them. Failure to take note of these regulations and secure proper authorization places the churches in an awkward position.
Department of Homeland Security - Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services traditionally makes a distinction between Curricular and Optional Practical Training.
A) Curricular Practical Training (C.P.T.) is an integral part of the curriculum and is supervised training under the auspices of Calvin Seminary, which it requires of the students in order to grant the desired degree. Our ministry formation (internships and summer) assignments (M.Div. and M.A. programs) fall into that category. CPT requests must be approved by the Director of Ministry Formation and authorized by the DSO, who prints a new Form I-20 with the authorization noted on page 3.
All international students (including Canadians) should note that summer assignments and internships at American churches constitute curricular practical training for which application needs to be made.
All international students (including Canadians) who have been assigned to a U.S. church for a summer assignment or internship by the Director of Ministry Formation must submit their Form I-20 along with a form completed by the Director of Ministry Formation authorizing the CPT so that the curricular practical training can be authorized by the DSO and entered into SEVIS so a new Form I-20 can be given to you. There is no fee for this service.
B) Optional Practical Training (O.P.T.) is chosen by the student but not required for the attainment of the degree. An example is a graduate student here for a two year Th.M. program who decides that six months of church internship might be helpful for his own purposes and makes the appropriate arrangements to that end, either during or after the program.
Since the seminary does not require such training in the Th.M. program, the Department of Homeland Security - Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services regards it as optional training for which specific authorization must be obtained from them.
Students desiring to apply for Optional Practical Training must apply
to the Department of Homeland Security - Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration
Services for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by completing
Form I-765. There is a fee of $180.00. Contact the assistant in the Dean
of Students and International Student Advisor's office.
You will need to make application at least three months before your intended
start date if your OPT will be during your summer vacation, if it is part-time
while school is in session, or after completion of graduate course requirements,
excluding a thesis or dissertation. If your OPT will be full-time after
completion of your course of study, you must complete and send in your
application before you complete your degree program and you can apply
as early as the beginning of the quarter in which you will graduate.
While on OPT, students are responsible for reporting name and address changes and disruptions of employment to the DSO. Authorization to engage in OPT employment is automatically terminated when the student transfers to another school or begins study at another educational level. The maximum OPT authorization is 12 months for each educational level.