Under rare circumstances, an eligible F-1 student may request employment authorization based on severe economic hardship caused by unforeseen circumstances beyond the student's control. These circumstances may include a loss of financial aid or on-campus employment without fault on the part of the student, substantial fluctuations in the value of currency or exchange rate, inordinate increases in tuition and /or living costs, unexpected changes in the financial condition of the student's source of support, medical bills, or other substantial and unexpected expenses.
F-1 students are eligible to apply for employment based on severe economic hardship if:
To request authorization for employment based on severe economic hardship, please email the following documents to isss@fit.edu
*Please allow 5-7 business days for processing. All requests are processed in the order they are received. Please plan accordingly.
Once your request is processed by ISSS, you will receive an updated I-20, along with a checklist on how to put together your Economic Hardship Application Packet. You must mail your application packet to USCIS within 30 days from the date that your I-20 was signed by ISSS.
Once USCIS receives your application, they will send you a receipt notice. Please note that this is not an approval notice. It usually takes about 3 months to receive a decision from USCIS. You will receive a notice in the mail whether your application was approved or denied.