Work Permit from University

[knime]

Hello,

I am one of the founder of Bay area based product development startup, close to 15 employees are working with us in part time/full time basis. We have a junior programmer positions and one of the selected profile is registered with *************** for Masters-second semester.     He said if gave him offer letter he will get CPT work permit from university. We are confused so, wants to get opinion from experts here

My question:

Does our company will face any issues in future if we offer him employment on CPT?  .

Does our company will face any issue if sponsor for H1B (We may Offer him full time in future and sponsor visa)?

Thank you.

[pontevecchio]

Even a startup and specially a startup needs a Lawyer.

[rahul412]

Hello,

I am one of the founder of Bay area based product development startup, close to 15 employees are working with us in part time/full time basis. We have a junior programmer positions and one of the selected profile is registered with *************** for Masters-second semester.     He said if gave him offer letter he will get CPT work permit from university. We are confused so, wants to get opinion from experts here

My question:

Does our company will face any issues in future if we offer him employment on CPT?  .

Does our company will face any issue if sponsor for H1B (We may Offer him full time in future and sponsor visa)?

Thank you.

He cannot work for that position under CPT, period.

[t75]

Why would you think of hiring someone from a diploma mill? Are you doing so because he is of your ethnic background?  CPT is NOT for working an arbitrary job. Participating in this type of activity should red flag your company with immigration. You can hire a USC or LPR without worrying about a shady university and CPT.  There are many qualified people looking for jobs.

 

If you are a legitimate company, you would be asking these questions of your legal counsel and not a public forum.

[JoeF]

CPT is only legal if it is an integral part of the curriculum.

*** is known to abuse the CPT rules.

If the person works at your company with CPT, that would likely be considered unauthorized employment, once ICE gets around to raid ***.

And your company may get fined eventually.

Further, pretty much nobody who abuses CPT through *** gets an H1 nowadays. USCIS has wised up on this kind of abuse.

[deril]

Hello,

 

CPT - Curricular Practical Training is the work authorization given by Universities to it's students to do Internships related to their field of study. Generally the student has to be on F1 status for 12 months to get CPT but some graduate schools like *************** gives CPT from the first semester. ( http://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training/)%C2'>

about 60% of *************** students do Internships on CPT. I don't thik of any problem in both cases

[Attorney_25]

There is a lot to this issue and you may want to obtain an opinion from a Murthy attorney who specializes in F-1 issues, discussing the specific circumstances in detail.

 

In general, if an employer does not make any misrepresentations to the government in any way and the CPT work authorization is facially valid, the employer should not face liability. However, there may be exceptions to this, such as if the government believes the employer is conspiring with the school in a way that in effect perpetrates a fraud against the government.

 

If USCIS determines that a student has violated his F-1 status, then a request for change of status to H-1B could be denied. However, the H-1B petition could still be approved for consular processing, if there are no other issues with the petition. In such a case, the beneficiary would have to leave the US, apply for a visa, and return. Mere violation of status would not be a basis for H-1B visa denial, but the visa could be denied for other reasons, and the beneficiary stuck outside the US, if the consulate determines that the student participated in a fraud. (There is a potential waiver for this, not guaranteed to be approved.)

[knime]

Thanks for your replies, we are not moving forward with this candidate as too much risk involved and we are a growing startup.

[catx]

Thanks for your replies, we are not moving forward with this candidate as too much risk involved and we are a growing startup.

 

Wise move.  Stick to hiring students and graduates from known, reputable schools (such as public universities / colleges).  If you want to participate in legitimate student internships proactively contact the universities / colleges you are interested in to work with them and their students (versus having the students approach you).

 

If students 'attending' questionable universities / colleges are denied legitimate jobs, then maybe they will get the message that buying a visa and degree and/or using CPT employment authorization as a way around getting a H-1B visa is not acceptable.

[rahul412]

Hello,

 

CPT - Curricular Practical Training is the work authorization given by Universities to it's students to do Internships related to their field of study. Generally the student has to be on F1 status for 12 months to get CPT but some graduate schools like *************** gives CPT from the first semester. ( 

about 60% of *************** students do Internships on CPT. I don't thik of any problem in both cases

But Jr. Programmer position is not a CPT job nor a internship...!!!!

[JoeF]

Hello,

 

CPT - Curricular Practical Training is the work authorization given by Universities to it's students to do Internships related to their field of study.

That's where you are wrong, and that's where frauds like *** break the rules.

CPT is only for work as integral part of the curriculum. It is not and has never been for work "related to the field of study." "Related to the field of study" is the requirement for OPT.

 

In fact, this example shows very nicely how *** is abusing CPT. Here, a student applied for some job, and then would get *** to issue CPT.

For legitimate CPT, the university would cooperate with local companies to offer internship on CPT as part of a class.

[JoeF]

Wise move.  Stick to hiring students and graduates from known, reputable schools (such as public universities / colleges).  If you want to participate in legitimate student internships proactively contact the universities / colleges you are interested in to work with them and their students (versus having the students approach you).

Lots of real universities also have project classes, where students work on real projects to apply the whole software development cycle.

The instructors would reach out to companies, often through alumni organizations or personal connections, and ask if the companies have some project of the scale suitable for a project class. Company representatives would present the projects, and students would choose what to work on. There would be regular, e.g., weekly meetings, where the students present their progress, etc. etc. etc.

I have been on both sides in these project classes, both locally with public universities and even remotely with one of the top private universities at the East Coast (I know the professor.)

 

And yes, good employees come from good universities, not from shady institutions.

[t75]

In the future, please be aware of the problem with diploma mills which individuals use as an excuse to come to the US.  There are many well qualified individuals not currently employed and soon to be or recent grads from high qualify universities.

 

If you do want to hire individuals requiring work authorization in the US, please hire a qualified immigration firm. Also, be aware off the fees that must be paid by the employer and those that may be paid by either the employer or prospective employee.

[Attorney_23]

We appreciate that experienced forum members wish to protect fellow members by warning them against associating with disreputable schools, employers, etc. However, please be careful about posting disparaging remarks about a specific organization, especially if you do not have extensive evidence to support such a claim.

 

In this case, we were approached by a representative of *** who disputed the claims made here, and further provided evidence that the school is now accredited. Here is the school representative's response, in its entirety:

 

For the past 20 years, *** has been focused on delivering industry relevant education to students. Part of that means connecting students to industry experts and helping them find internships and jobs that allow them to learn and grow as young professionals. As such, *** requires internships for all students, starting from the very first trimester, as a core part of the curriculum. International students at *** must apply for CPT work authorization in compliance with SEVIS regulations. 

 

Internships (commonly called CPT by international students) are supervised and evaluated at several levels at ***. All students working on internships are required to submit Mid-Term and Final Internship Reports to demonstrate what they have learned during their work experience. In addition, employers submit Employers Evaluations of the students at the end of each internship. Internship/CPT reports are then evaluated by *** Core Faculty to ensure the quality of experience and assess student learning outcomes. 

 

There is no basis to JoeF's comments regarding ***. For more information, please visit www.***.edu or contact us if you need any further clarifications. 

 

Please find below links of ***'s accreditation page, ***'s listing on the WASC directory along with WASC action letter which you can use for disputing JoeF's baseless, non-factual comments. 

 

***.edu/index.php/accreditation/accreditation-home/

[rahul412]

But I "personally" met a person from this university. He joined this university for his second master's just bcos his H1 was not picked in the lottery and was working at the same old FT job on CPT. So how did he got CPT for the job which is  completely NOT a part of his F1??

 

The very first question, how did he got admission within couple of days??