Don’t international students need work authorization before I can hire them?
No. International students must have the work authorization before they begin actual employment, but not before they are offered employment. In fact, J-1 students applying for academic training and F-1 students applying for Curricular Practical Training must have a written job offer in order to apply for the work authorization. Many F-1 students will be in the process of obtaining work authorization pursuant to the requirements of Optional Practical Training while they are interviewing for employment. Students can give employers a reasonable estimate of when they expect to receive work authorization.
