F-1 On-Campus Employment

Student Information

As an F-1 student with an I-20 from Northern Virginia Community College, you are authorized to work on any campus of NOVA.

  • Your employment is limited to a total of 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters
  • You may work more than 20 hours per week during the summer and other vacation periods.
  • Your employer may be NOVA or a commercial firm which provides direct services to students on campus (i.e. bookstore or cafeteria). Those commercial firms which may be working on campus, but are not providing direct services to students (i.e. construction firms) are not able to hire F-1 students
  • You must continuously maintain your F-1 status in order to keep your work permission.
  • If you have approved OPT, you may work at NOVA only if the job is directly related to your degree program.

Beginning employment:

  1. If an employment offer is made to you by an eligible on campus employer, the employer must provide you with a job offer letter that includes; your name, start date, expected work hours and name of your immediate supervisor.
  2. Upload the employment letter to the F1 Request for Services form 125-061 under "Letters-->Verification of on-campus employment for SSN".
  3. Pick up the original Social Security Verification letter and signed I20 from OIS.
  4. Schedule your Social Security Number appointment with the Social Security Administration office.
  5. Show SSN application receipt to your NOVA employer so you can start working.
  6. Provide SSN to employer as soon as you receive card in the mail so you can get paid.

Note: The letter from the international student advisor is only valid for the current semester. You will need to get a new letter each semester in order to continue to work.

Social Security number:

In order to begin working, you must have a Social Security number. If you have a Social Security card you need to show it to your supervisor at the time you are completing the hiring forms.

If you don’t have a Social Security card, you can get one after you have been hired.

You will need to take the following documents to a Social Security office to apply:

  1. Your passport
  2. I-94
  3. I-20
  4. Letter from your employer
  5. Letter from the International Student office

The Social Security card is usually mailed to you in 2-4 weeks. You must take the Social Security card to your employer to complete the hiring process.

Information for Employment Supervisor

F-1 students are eligible to work on any campus of the college which issued their I-20. Oncampus employment must meet the following guidelines:

  1. Total hours of campus employment must not exceed 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semester. Students may work beyond 20 hours per week during the summer or other vacation periods and are not required to be enrolled in classes.
  2. Employment must be by Northern Virginia Community College or a commercial firm which is providing services directly to students (i.e. bookstore or cafeteria). Students are not eligible to work for firms which are not providing direct services (i.e. construction, janitorial, etc)

Hiring process:

In order to complete the I-9 form, F-1 students must show you documents from column A on the form. The required documents are:

  • Valid foreign passport
  • I-94 (must be downloaded by the student online)
  • I-20
  • Letter from the international student office verifying the student’s F-1 status and eligibility to work

To obtain the letter from the international office, provide the information requested below on your office's letterhead. The student will upload the letter to the international student services portal to request the OIS letter verifying eligibility to work. Standard processing time is 10 working days.

Social Security Number:

NOVA Human Resources requires that a copy of the student’s Social Security card be submitted with the I-9. If this student does not have a Social Security number, he or she will need to take a letter from you and OIS to the Social Security Administration to apply for the card. The Social Security Administration is very specific about the information which must be in the letter. The letter must be on letterhead and must state that the student has been hired. Simply saying that the student has been offered a position will not be sufficient to get the number.

The letter must include:

  • The proposed employment starting date
  • Description of the job and its duties
  • The number of hours the student will work per week
  • NVCC’s Federal ID Number: 54-1268263
  • Name of immediate supervisor
  • Name and signature of employer

EXAMPLE OF ON CAMPUS EMPLOYERS (there could be others)

  • Bookstore
  • Library
  • Cafeteria
  • Student Life office
  • Parking office
  • International Student office
  • Office of Accommodation and Accessibility Services
  • College Steps Mentoring program
  • Tutoring offices