J-1 Employment Options

Employment is considered to be the rendering of services for compensation. This includes but is not limited to financial compensation, meals, housing, books or any type of reimbursement for transportation, lodging, etc. Employment is a benefit of the J-1 student status but one to which numerous rules and restrictions apply. Students may violate these rules and lose their immigration status by working off campus without prior, written authorization, working on campus for more hours than permitted, engaging in self-employment or other types of prohibited employment. Working or accepting employment in the United States without proper authorization is considered a serious violation of immigration status which may result in deportation. J-1 students considering any type of employment in the United States must obtain written employment authorization on form DS-2019 from the Immigration Services Office prior to beginning work. At the University of Notre Dame, this authorization may only be granted by a J-1 Program Alternate Responsible Officer in the ISO.
All types of J-1 student employment require prior written approval from the ISO on form DS-1029.

Academic Funding, On-Campus Work or Economic Necessity

Employment related to academic funding or regular on-campus work includes teaching, research, and graduate assistantships as well as employment conducted on the premises or the Notre Dame campus. Employment for economic necessity may include employment off-campus that is necessary because of serious, urgent, and unforeseen economic circumstances that have arisen since acquiring exchange visitor status.

Conditions and limitations for J-1 Student employment:
● Students must be in good academic standing at Notre Dame.
● Students must be engaged and continue to engage in a full course of study as defined by the academic program.
● Students are restricted to no more than 20 hours per week total during the regular fall and spring semesters.
● Students may work more than 20 hours per week only during vacation periods and annual breaks, such as summer.
● Students are not permitted to continue on-campus employment after completion of the degree program or academic objective indicated on form DS-2019. NOTE: Employment Authorization for Academic Training is required to continue employment on-campus in J-1 status after completion of the academic program.
● Employment authorization can be only be granted for 12 months at a time but may be renewed annually.
● Employment authorization automatically ends when the academic program ends or the student withdraws.
● To qualify for off-campus employment for economic necessity, the student must be able to provide evidence that there is a “serious, urgent and unforeseen” need.

Academic Training

Employment for Academic Training must be directly related to the academic program listed on form DS-2019. Students may apply for Academic Training on a part-time or full-time basis and at any stage of the academic program and may engage in Academic Training before or after completion of the program.

Academic Training Eligibility Requirements:
● Students must be in lawful J-1 status and in good academic standing if still enrolled.
● Academic training must be done with a specific employer or training site.
● The amount of Academic Training available to students is as follows:
-PhD students are eligible for up to 36 months of Academic Training.
-Students other than PhD students are eligible for up to 18 months of Academic Training.
-Students whose academic program is shorter than 18 months are eligible for a period of Academic Training not
exceed the total program length.
● All Academic Training is counted as full time (2 months of part-time work is counted as 2 months of full-time work).
● Academic Training may be authorized for consecutive or simultaneous periods with more than one employer. However, a separate application must be filed and approved for each employer and activity.
● Health insurance coverage for the J-1 student and all J-2 dependents must be maintained for the duration of the Academic Training period.

Academic Training Application Process:
● ISO requires students to attend mandatory Academic Training Information Session before they may apply.
● Student initiates application by submitting request to ISO.
● Students should allow at least one week for the ISO to process the employment authorization.