Internships at employers with H-1B approvals in the United States

Before you apply

OPT: a year of work tied to your major: Up to 12 months, before or after graduating

Optional Practical Training lets an F-1 student work in a job directly related to their major for up to 12 months, during studies, after them, or split between the two. It needs an employment authorization document before the first day.

Official source

STEM OPT adds two years: A 24-month extension for qualifying STEM degrees

A student whose degree is on the STEM list can extend post-completion OPT by 24 months, with an employer enrolled in E-Verify. It is why an employer's E-Verify status matters to an international student's search.

Official source

CPT: internships during the degree: Authorised by your school, after a full academic year

Curricular Practical Training is work that is part of the curriculum, authorised by the school's designated school official, usually after a full academic year of full-time study. Twelve months or more of full-time CPT ends OPT eligibility at that degree level; part-time CPT does not.

Official source

When an unpaid internship is legal: Only if you, not the company, are the main beneficiary

At a for-profit company, an intern who is really doing an employee's work is owed minimum wage and overtime. The Department of Labor's test asks, among seven factors, whether no pay was promised, whether the training resembles school, and whether the intern supplements rather than replaces paid staff.

Official source

• Summer internships are recruited the autumn before

  The largest employers post most of next summer's internships between August and October. Startups and small companies hire later and all year, often in February and March. Applying in May for that summer is usually a year late at a big company and right on time at a small one.

• Proof beats a longer resume

  Recruiters see hundreds of near-identical applications per posting, many written by AI. A link to work you shipped, or a result you can show, does more than another bullet point. Startups especially hire on proof and on short paid work trials.

• Say your work authorisation up front

  If you are on a student visa, say whether you will use CPT, OPT or STEM OPT, and when. It is the first question an employer has, and answering it early saves both sides a week.

• One page, no photo

  A student or new-grad resume is one page. No photograph, no date of birth, no marital status: a US employer reads those as a legal risk, not as thoroughness.

• Not only tech, and not only the coasts

  Government, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and non-profit internships get far fewer applicants per posting than tech, finance or consulting, and many hire year-round. Research assistant roles at your own university count too.

Questions, answered.