PT study at US law school as Canadian

[cas79]

Has anyone enrolled for part time program in the states?  I'm Canadian and only have F1.  What are my options if I want to transfer to a part time program in terms of visa status and what visas are necessary?

[Temporary Relief Assistant Trailer Park Supervisor]

Has anyone enrolled for part time program in the states?  I'm Canadian and only have F1.  What are my options if I want to transfer to a part time program in terms of visa status and what visas are necessary?

GULC told me it is not possible for Canadians on F1 status to study part-time.  I'm not sure if other schools have different policies or not.

[Astro]

It depends on the school's part time program.  You need to meet a certain minimum credit requirement per semester.  If that particular school's part time program meets that minimum credit requirement, then you're in.  If it's not, you're out.

I can't remember the specifics, but if you look around a bit, you'll find it.

But you should know that you can't work more than 20 hours a week if you do make it into a PT program on an F1 visa, and that employment has to be on-campus.  (This does not include OTP or CTP, but you should save those for summers, anyway.)

[thejacker112]

whats otp and ctp?

[thejacker112]

If you go to the US Immigration site and click on F-1 status, it clearly says that international students are NOT ELIGIBLE to study part time in the states.  ONLY full time study is accepted.  Totally f'ed me over for Fordham part-time.  Was pretty pissed about that.  Oh well--

[Astro]

Sort of true, but not quite.  They have stringent qualifications for "full-time" and "part-time".  Some schools' part-time programs qualify as full-time for F-1 purposes.  gillesthegreat would be better to ask regarding this.

OPT = optional practical training.  CPT = curricular practical training.  You get 12 months total of either.  If you qualify, you can work (full-time) during your schooling in order to gain credits/training necessary for your job.  Usually, this applies to summer work, although sometimes it's used for co-op programs.

OPT is the usual route.  CPT is more specific to certain types of programs -- I think the training has to be a required part of the curriculum for CPT to apply.

[Astro]

As far as I know, yes.  I think most of it goes through your international students' office, though.  Internships are a little bit different -- if they're unpaid, I think it depends on how the placing classifies what you're doing.  Not quite sure how you stay in the US for a summer internship.  I'm sure it would be pretty easy to Google, though.