J-1 Employment

"Employment" means the performance of services on either a part-time or full-time basis for compensation, financial or otherwise, including self-employment. Although investing is not considered employment, working in a business in which a student is an investor is considered employment.

Full-time J-1 students may engage in two types of employment: (1) academic training related to your course of study, and (2) other employment related to academic funding, on-campus work, or economic necessity.

On-Campus Employment
(Research, teaching, and graduate assistantships, and hourly work)
On-campus employment includes: employment located on the University of Maryland, College Park campus, and employment at an off-campus location which is educationally affiliated with the University of Maryland, College Park.

Academic Training (AT)
(Employment in field of study)
Academic Training is the name that the U.S. Department of State uses for certain types of study-related, off-campus internships for students in J-1 status. It is available both before and after the completion of your program of study. You must obtain Academic Training authorization BEFORE you begin working.

Volunteer
In order to volunteer, the position must be unpaid and classified as a volunteer position . Typical volunteer opportunities include school fund raisers or volunteering for a public service. A position that would normally be paid is not considered a volunteer opportunity. Please refer to the Fair Labor Standards Act for more information.