Who is eligible?
Student with a valid F-1 or J-1 (student) visa and enrolled full-time (9 credits for Graduate students and 12 hours for Undergraduates) can work on campus up to 20 hours per week during the academic year, and full time (i.e., up to 40 hours per week) during breaks such as Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, and summer. This rule applies to supported students as well.
Steps to follow
- Apply for and accept a job on campus.
- Request an employment verification form from the department that is hiring you. (For Graduate students receiving an assistantship,
the offer letter may be acceptable in place of the form.) This is not the same as
the offer letter!
- Request an employment verification form from the department that is hiring you. (For Graduate students receiving an assistantship,
the offer letter may be acceptable in place of the form.) This is not the same as
the offer letter!
- The hiring department will give you the payroll forms they need you to fill out:
- USCIS Form I-9
- IRS Form 8233
- IRS Form W-4
- MI Form MI-W4
- Social Security Form SS-5
- MTU Patent, Research, and Proprietary Rights Agreement
- MTU Payroll Direct Deposit Authorization (optional)
The respective hiring departments must send paperwork to Human Resources. It is the responsibility of the hiring department to procure these forms from the Financial Services and Human Resources pages.
- You also need to apply for a US Social Security Number. This number is used for tax
purposes in the USA if you have a legally taxable income. To be eligible for a SS
number in the USA, you must receive any taxable income that is not a fellowship, grant, or scholarship.
- You must first request a support letter from IPS by filling this Google form. Processing the support letter may take 2-3 business days. We will email you when your support letter has been processed, do not come to the IPS office and inquire about it before you receive the email.
- For further details on how to proceed with the application procedure, please carefully
review all the information on this page.
- Once you receive your social security card, you must contact Payroll Services (payroll@mtu.edu or 906-487-2280) to link your social security number to your Michigan Tech account. This is a mandatory step and failure to do so may result in termination of your employment. You must either take your social security card to the Payroll office at Lakeshore Center, or send them a copy of the card in a sealed envelope through regular or on-campus mail. Never email a scanned copy of the card.
Things to note
- If you are a new student, you must wait to go to the Social Security office until IPS has activated your I-20. IPS normally activates all I-20s about two weeks after the start of each semester. If you go before that time, you will be turned away by the Social Security administration office.
- If you are a new student and have received a letter of funding from your department but you are yet to start your studies at Michigan Tech, you must wait till one week before your classes to request the support letter from IPS.
- If you are a F-1 student that finished one program of study at one educational level (such as a bachelor’s degree) and starts another program of study at the same campus, you may continue on-campus employment as long as you plan to enroll for the next term.
- If you are a J-1 student, you must complete the J-1 Student On-Campus Employment Reporting Form before you start working. You are not allowed to be employed until you have completed reporting and paperwork responsibilities.