Off campus work

[immihelp]

Hello,

I am a holder of J-1 visa. I go to American high school right now. In June I will switch my status to F-1 visa because I am already accepted to one of the colleges around this area. I know that I am not allowed to work first nine months off-campus to prove that I can pay my education without that kind of help. But if I already had J-1 visa for one year would it change my situation and would I be able to apply for social security number and get a permission to work legally off-campus.

Thank you very much!

[immihelp]

No, that does not change.

[tatitati]

Yes, you can apply for social security number and yes, you can potentially get permission to work legally off-campus for 20 hours a week. However, you can legally work on campus or fairly easily find work off-campus although this is technically not legal unless you get your work permission from the school