Volunteering, Employment, and Unpaid Internships
While the term 鈥渧olunteer鈥� is often used to refer to unpaid work generally, it represents a complex area in which immigration regulations and labor laws intersect. If you are interested in volunteering or participating in an unpaid internship*, you must be aware of the relevant regulations in order to maintain your F-1or J-1 status.
*We are using the term 鈥渋nternship鈥� to refer to all unpaid experiences offered by for-profit organizations, such as 鈥渆xternship鈥�, 鈥渕icro-internship鈥�, and 鈥渆mployer project鈥�.
If you are an international student in F-1 or J-1 status, please remember that听any off-campus employment for F-1 or J-1 students must be authorized!听Without proper work authorization, off-campus employment would be considered a violation of your status. The consequences may include loss of valid immigration status in the U.S. and great difficulty in reacquiring lawful status in the future.
Definitions: Volunteer vs. Employee
According to the听, volunteers are individuals who 鈥渄onate their services, usually on a part-time basis, for听public services, religious or humanitarian objectives, not as employees and without expectation of pay鈥�. Additionally, the Department of Labor specifies that such services can only be provided to 鈥渞eligious, charitable or similar听non-profit听辞谤驳补苍颈锄补迟颈辞苍蝉鈥�.听Based on this definition, it is not possible to volunteer for a private sector, for-profit organization.
While there is a highly specific definition of what constitutes volunteerism, employment is not so easily defined. Employment can be understood to be any activity in which an individual works or performs a service in exchange for wages or other remuneration. Please note that the term 鈥渞emuneration鈥� is quite broad and includes a variety of non-monetary benefits, such as free housing, food, gifts, etc.
Please note that it is never legal to 鈥渧olunteer鈥� (work without pay) for a normally paid position (work that people are typically paid to do), as this would constitute an unfair labor arrangement.
What is volunteering?
To meet the Department of Labor鈥檚 definition of volunteerism (and thus not require CPT or any other work authorization), the work performed by the individual must meet the following criteria (this list is not exhaustive):
- No compensation or expectation of compensation or personal benefit.
- The volunteer cannot displace regular employees and cannot provide a service that people are typically paid to do.
- The services provided by the volunteer should not be the same services for which he or she was previously paid and/or expects to be hired and paid for in the future.
- Services are performed for a non-profit organization for public service, religious or humanitarian objective (i.e. it is not possible to be considered a volunteer at a for-profit organization)
- The services must be offered freely and without pressure or coercion.
- The services must be done on a part-time basis.
Volunteering and Unpaid Internships 鈥� is it the same?
As explained above,听惫辞濒耻苍迟别别谤颈苍驳听refers to donating time with an organization whose primary purpose is charitable or humanitarian in nature, without remuneration or any other type of compensation.听F-1 and J-1 students are free to engage in volunteer work as long as it meets the above criteria. For example, it would be okay to volunteer at a local homeless shelter, charitable food pantry, or American Red Cross.
Unpaid internships, on the other hand, do not usually qualify as 鈥渧olunteer鈥� activity.听Internships, both paid and unpaid, are primarily offered by the private sector and usually related to the intern鈥檚 major field of study.
For more detailed information about unpaid internships, please reference the Department of Labor鈥檚听听titled 鈥淚nternship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act鈥�.
Do F-1 students need CPT authorization to participate in unpaid internships?
CPT authorization is strongly recommended for all unpaid internships, whether the student does or does not need to provide employment authorization documents to the employer. The F-1 regulations are written in such a way that CPT is an authorization to do practical training as part of the curriculum for the academic program, and as such is significant in more ways than simply for the employer to verify employment eligibility.听CPT authorization is more than just permission to get paid.
You must have CPT authorization for unpaid internships for the following reasons:
- CPT authorization by the university serves to demonstrate that this practical experience is part of the curriculum.
- CPT authorization is a way of reporting in SEVIS your activity, employment, and location where you are working and therefore maintaining your status.
- If the unpaid internship at some point changes into a paid one (or if your employer decides to compensate you for your work in any way 鈥� for example, give you a monetary gift), you won鈥檛 be able to accept the payment if your internship/externship was not authorized as CPT. Please keep in mind that F-1 students cannot be retroactively remunerated or in any way compensated for work done in an unpaid internship/externship if they did not obtain work authorization prior to when the work was performed.
- The government has been known to question students鈥� work authorization when they are in the process of applying for an immigration benefit (e.g., STEM OPT Extension, H-1B employment visa, US permanent residency, etc.). If your unpaid activity is questioned by the government, your practical training authorization (such as CPT) will protect your legal status and future benefit eligibility.
Based on the above, if you have an internship offer (paid or unpaid) that meets CPT eligibility criteria, you must apply for CPT authorization.
If you have any questions or doubt about your activities, please听听so we can help.