The two kinds of work authorization
CPT is training that's an integral part of your program — a required internship, a co-op — and is authorized by the international office on your I-20 before you start. OPT is up to twelve months of work in your field, applied for through USCIS, usable before or after you finish. The workshop covers which one fits which situation and the timelines each needs.
Why timing matters
OPT has a filing window tied to your program end date, and a late application can't be fixed. Students who come to a workshop two semesters out, not two weeks out, are the ones who don't lose eligibility.
In and around Porter Falls
For a campus this size Porter both sends and receives a steady stream of students internationally. The Global Education Office in Founders Union runs the advising, the risk review and the arrival and re-entry programming.
The practical details
When: Monthly during the academic year, Founders Union. For: F-1 students planning to work in their field. Bring: Your I-20, your job or offer details if you have them. Anything time-sensitive — an accommodation, a booking, a deadline — is worth confirming directly before you rely on it, because the specifics here can change from term to term.
If you have a question
The office behind this is Global Education Office (Founders Union, Room 240). Call (715) 555–0220 or email global@uwporterfalls.edu during the fall and spring terms, or sign in to MyPorter to send a message or book a time. If it turns out another office owns the question, they will route it rather than send you back to the start.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.