In a major relief to thousands of stranded international students facing economic hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that they can apply for off-campus work authorization, .
All applications are subject to approval in a case-by-case basis, it said.
Examples of unforeseen circumstances include, but are not limited to, 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.
Unexpected changes in the financial condition of the source of support; and medical bills have also been listed by the USCIS as unforeseen circumstances.
The USCIS said that their off-campus work authorization application, which would allow them to work anywhere in the US, must be signed by their educational institution.
Under normal circumstances, international students are allowed to work within the university campus and that too for a limited number of hours per month.
“If your request is approved, you may be able to work off-campus in one-year intervals up to the expected date of completion of your current course of study,” the USCIS said.
