As a foreign national employed as a graduate assistant with Texas A&M Engineering (the Texas A&M University College of Engineering and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station), you will need to take care of take of some responsibilities before and during employment. You will need to communicate with your department business office for these items.
Below are some of the items you will be responsible for your successful employment.
Prior To Employment
- After your offer is received, you must have the appropriate work authorization documents to present to Engineering Human Resources (HR) to meet employment eligibility requirements. (You will complete an electronic Form I-9 through our Guardian I-9 system.) You must only present original documents and not copies or scans. If you are transferring from another university, you will need to present a document associated with Texas A&M University after you have completed the check-in process with International Student Services.
- During the onboarding process in Workday, you will complete all tasks assigned in a timely manner and will contact our HR office with any questions or concerns. All tasks must be completed within three days of assignments.
During Employment
- You will be solely responsible for maintaining your work authorization.
- You must not work during any period of time during which you do not have valid work authorization.
- As a graduate assistant at 50% effort, you are not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. You do not have the option of “making time up” by working more hours in one week and fewer in another. This is a violation of your visa requirements and you can be penalized up to and including deportation.
You will have opportunities during vacation periods to work additional hours. You will need to make arrangements with your supervisor(s) prior to working any additional hours. Contact your departmental business office if you have any questions.
- You will receive an email(s) from Guardian several months prior to your work authorization expiring. This will be your notification to update your work authorization if you need to.
- Please visit the International Student and Scholar Services for valuable employment information.
Preparing for Graduation
During the semester in which you graduate, you will be responsible for notifying your departmental business office if your last day will be different than the date of graduation. For example, in the fall semester, if you completed your requirements for graduation and opted to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), your last day in the student position could be earlier if you selected to start OPT on Nov. 1.
- If you will be graduating and will transfer to a different position with Texas A&M Engineering after graduation, you will need to have your supervisor initiate the request. During the waiting period for approval and obtaining appropriate work authorization, you will not be authorized to work. Do not work!
- If you are continuing a new program after graduation, you are eligible to continue working as long as you have received an updated I-20 with the new program. You can have a gap in employment for the days between graduation and receiving your new I-20. You will need to reach out to your departmental business office to present your updated work authorization (new I-20). Do not work during the period between graduation and program extension.
Traveling Outside the U.S.
Approval will need to be obtained to travel outside the United States and maintain your employment status. You will not be authorized to work without this approval. You must have a valid business reason that necessitates your employment. Please contact your departmental business office.