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June 1, 2020 Question of the Week: OPT and Volunteering

Monday, June, 1st, 2020 Archived / Inactive

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Question of the Week

Each week the International Center will pose a frequently asked question from students and scholars. These questions are general in nature and have been edited for conciseness and clarity. If you have a question you'd like us to include in this column, send us an email at internationalcenter@tufts.edu.

June 1, 2020

Question: Hi, I finished this May and I am waiting for my OPT to come. I am concerned about not being able to find a job once it starts because I know that I have to find something within 90 days. Can I volunteer and count it as OPT until I find a paid job? Can I even start volunteering now? 

Answer: Thank you for your question!

If you are a student and you have applied for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), the answer is yes - volunteering does count as acceptable "employment" or "work" under OPT rules. However, to count as OPT employment, the volunteer activity has to be directly related to your major field of study.

Students can volunteer for non-profit charitable, humanitarian, or civic organizations at any time while in the US. No authorization is needed for someone to volunteer, as long as you remember that volunteering is exactly that - a voluntary donation of your time without any expectation of compensation in return. You cannot "volunteer" for a business or organization if your activities would normally be done by paid workers or employees - this is unpaid work, which is not permitted. And again, in order for volunteering to count as employment under OPT rules, the actual volunteer activity must be directly related to your major. (You are welcome to do volunteering that is not related to your major, it's just that such activity wouldn't be counted as OPT employment.) It is up to you to identify the connection between your major and your volunteer activities, but if you can show that there is one, then you can report as OPT employment.