International students must complete the Form I-765, “Application for Employment Authorization” when applying for certain types of employment or training opportunities while in the United States. Students must properly complete this form and receive authorization from USCIS before beginning their work or training in the United States.

To properly complete the form, please follow USCIS’ instructions. USCIS will make every effort to process Forms I-765 within 90 days of submission, however not properly completing your form will significantly delay the process and could lead to a refusal of authorization. Here are some important instructions to keep in mind:

• Only list your name and contact information on the form, not the contact information of your designated school official. Specifically, Box #2 on the form (“Other Names Used”) should only be completed if you have previously used another name while in the United States, like a maiden name. You should not put your DSO’s or any other individual’s name in this section.

• If your address changes at any time after you submit your Form I-765, you must notify USCIS of the change within 10 days of moving. This is in addition to contacting your DSO about your address change.
• You can report your change of address to USCIS by calling the National Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283. Or, you can complete a hard copy of Form AR-11, “Alien’s Change of Address Card,” and mail it to the specified address.

For more information about applying to work and train in the United States, please visit the USCIS Students and Employment page. There, you will also find details about applying for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and the science, technology, engineering and mathematics OPT extension.