Stranded Foreign Students Can Apply For Off-Campus Work Authorisation In US

Washington: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has allowed stranded foreign students in the US to apply for off-campus work authorization.

The announcement came as a relief for several stranded students, including those from India, who are going through a financial crunch because of the ongoing pandemic.

According to the USCIS statement, the stranded foreign students may request for employment authorisation to work off-campus only if they are facing severe financial crisis because of “unforeseen circumstances beyond their control”.

“The unforeseen circumstances include loss of financial aid or on-campus employment through no fault of their own; substantial fluctuations in currency value or exchange rate; and inordinate increases in tuition or living costs among others,” according to the statement, as reported by PTI.

The USCIS further stated that the student’s off-campus work authorisation application must be signed by their educational institution.

If the application gets approved, then students can work off-campus in intervals of one year until the expected date of completion of their current course of study.

Several international students, including hundreds from India, have been left stranded in America after educational institutions across the country were shut on March 13 to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak.