International Students

As an international student, you are allowed to go to work in the US after completing your course of study. However, there are regulations that have specific requirements and restrictions. If you wish to work in the U.S. you must plan ahead. The UMBC Office of International Education (OIE) is familiar with the special situations you face and can help you to understand the rules and regulations regarding your Visa status and your employability. They are located in the Administration Building, room 224.

International students with F-1 visas, according to U.S. immigration law, are eligible to work full-time for one year after they graduate as part of their "practical training."

After their practical training, international students must be sponsored by an employer in order to continue working in the United States. The process involves petitioning the government for an H1-B, obtaining approval from the Labor Department, hiring a lawyer, and absorbing some fees.

Stay up to date on the Immigration Regulations

Immigration regulations change constantly, so be sure to check with the UMBC OIE staff for the most updated information. Staff at OIE are the campus experts on work permission and immigration regulations. They can bring you up to date on current requirements and help you to avoid legal problems with accepting job offers from U.S. employers.

Your Job Search

The Career Services Center is here to help with your job search. We offer a variety of resources to help with your job search. You may also schedule one-on-one appointments to meet with Career Specialists who can help you to map out your job search strategy.

If you plan on searching for a job in you home country upon graduation you may want to check out CareerJet Worldwide where you can search for job listings by country and city.

If you plan to search for a job in the U.S. be aware that many U.S. employers may require citizenship. Thus, job searching for international students can be challenging, but there are U.S. employers who are willing to hire foreign nationals. It will depend on the industry and the employer.

We suggest that you start your job search early, and be prepared to devote extensive time to it. Learn everything you can about the process through which an employer can obtain an H-1 visa for you. You may find that you will need to explain the process to an employer. Be prepared to explain exactly what steps are involved (as mentioned above, be sure to check with the Office of International Education first). There may be some advantage to having the paperwork handled by a lawyer who specializes in handling H1 Visas. If you'd be willing to pay any associated fees, let the employer know that. You can also tell an employer that they can consult with the staff at OIE for more information about the process.

You may also find assistance and locate attorneys at:

Visa Now - Look in the InfoCenter section for free information

Searching for employers who sponsor H1 Visas? These websites may be helpful:

H1BSponsors.com - is an interactive web site that links h-1b job seekers to employers and recruit candidates for their subscribers (Employers) from all over the world.
Foreignborn.com - Connects you to U.S.-based companies looking targeting foreign-born employees.

Additional Resources for International Students

Foreign Labor Certification - A searchable database of employers who have hired internationals on H1-B visas by location and industry
H1Base - Some free and some fee-based information
USImmigrationSupport.org - comprehensive information on acquiring a visa, a green card or applying for citizenship.
International Student.com - is a resource for international students and those preparing to study abroad
usavisanow.com - US immigration information
iStudentCity - A great site with information for international students from start to finish. Includes on-line chats with other international students as well as helpful hits for job searching after graduation.
globalcareercenter.com - is an international career services company with foreign and domestic jobs, international resume writing services, video conferencing, work permit processing, and more.
International Careers Consortium - Advice on job searching as an international student.
H1visajobs.com - is a web site housing 10 data bases listing companies that have sponsored H1-B visas with the past several years. The company obtains this information from the federal government. The company charges a $50 access fee for each data base for a six-month period.
LatPro.com - is dedicated to helping Hispanic professionals find career success.

Job Fairs

Connect with employers looking to recruit UMBC students/alumni at any of the following annual UMBC sponsored fairs. For fair dates check our Events Calendar.

Campus Jobs Fair
Diversity Recruitment Event
Career Fair (Fall semester)
Maryland Career Consortium Career Fair
Hi-Tech Job Fair
Summer & Part-Time Job/Internship Fair

While attending the job fair, you will receive a student hand out listing all employers, majors they are seeking and possible positions they might be recruiting for. For your information, we will also post which employers are able to sponsor international students.

Communication & Interviewing Skills

Communication

Strong communication skills are critical for prospective employees. Employers are often concerned with international students' ability to communicate effectively with their clients and/or internal personnel. If you would like assistance in this area, please contact the UMBC English Language Center. They offer a variety of academic and professional English language and communication programs in a cross-cultural setting.

Their conversational partner program is available to any ELC student enrolled in the Intensive English or Advanced English Courses. By participating in this program, international students can make new friends and learn more about American culture and college life. Students are partnered with UMBC students, staff or friends of UMBC to engage in comfortable, informal conversation once a week.

Rest assured that many international students do find employment in the U.S. You will have to be able to identify your skills and be able to articulate them to employers.

Practice Interviews

Communication skills are an extremely important part of the interviewing process. It is essential that you are able to articulate your strengths and value to the employer.

To help to improve your interviewing skills, the staff of the Career Services Center is also available to conduct "mock" (practice) interviews with you. This is a two part process. Part one can be done during our walk-in hours (M-F from 2-4 pm.) and then a one-hour appointment is scheduled to conduct the interview and receive feedback. The session can also be videotaped at your request. Also, be sure to check out our interviewing skills online workshop.

Resumes: Tips for International Students

It's your brochure - be concise as you summarize your skills, accomplishments, and academic background relative to employment objective; You need to sell yourself on paper - include only those items that will help you (i.e., typically, being an F-1 student is not a selling point, so you'll want to leave your visa/citizenship status information off of your resume)

Keep it to one page - general guideline for most students and recent grads
Most important first - list the most important/relevant items first (top to bottom and left to right)
Do not attach a picture or include age, marital status, race or religion
Emphasize strong English skills - i.e., writing papers and presenting in courses, internship, etc. If you have a "Language Skills" categories, don't list English (it will be assumed you're fluent in English)
Make sure that the resume is free from grammatical and spelling errors as well as awkward language
Be honest - you can certainly leave off certain facts, but never lie on your resume or in an interview
Have your resume reviewed by a CSC Career Specialist
Under Education - highlight the degree(s) you received over where you received it; list GPA or equivalent if 3.0+