Severe Economic Hardship is a work authorization for students who are experiencing severe financial difficulties caused by circumstances beyond their control that occurred after obtaining F-1 status. Some examples of circumstances beyond the student’s control:

• Unexpected changes in the financial condition of the student’s sponsor.
• Loss of financial aid or on-campus employment if the loss is not the student’s fault.
• Unexpected medical bills in the U.S. not covered by insurance.
• Large increases in tuition or living costs.
• A substantial fluctuation of currency in the student’s home country.

• Full-time enrolled in a Homeland Security-approved school for at least one academic year (fall + spring or spring + fall)
• Valid F-1 status
• Good academic standing
• Unavailable or insufficient on-campus employment to meet the student’s financial needs
• Sufficient evidence that employment is necessary due to a severe economic hardship
• The student must remain enrolled in a full course of study while on Economic Hardship.

Submit to your international advisor (oip@uttyler.edu):

• Economic Hardship I-20 Request Form
• Form I-765 from www.uscis.gov
• Letter explaining the unforeseen circumstances beyond your control that occurred after you arrived in the U.S. that led to the need for off-campus employment

Gather the following documents so they are ready to send once you have a recommendation from an ISS advisor.

• Two passport photos
• A check for the USCIS application fee ($410 ) or application for fee waiver (I-912 from uscis.gov)
• Original I-765 form
• Copy of Economic Hardship I-20. The I-20 issue date must be less than 30 days old.
• Student letter explaining the need for Economic Hardship work authorization
• Copy of passport ID/data page
• Copy of I-94
• Copy of F-1 visa
• Copy of previously issued EAD cards, if applicable.
• Budget for the coming year, including the approximate amount of money needed to meet student‘s financial obligations
• Optional additional evidence

• Submit all required documents to your international advisor.
• If the application is complete, your advisor will issue an Economic Hardship I-20
• Mail the application to USCIS with a check for the USCIS application fee.
• The student will receive a receipt notice from USCIS within 2-3 weeks after mailing the application.
• Approval can take 2-4 months. If approved, the student will receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

• Approval of Economic Hardship allows the student to work off-campus in a job that is not related to the student’s course of study.
• Work is limited to 20 hours per week while school is in session but can be full-time during official school breaks.
• The student is not authorized to work until the EAD card is received.

• Economic Hardship is granted for one year or until the student’s program end date.
• Approval for Economic Hardship can be renewed. If applying for a renewal, the student must repeat the same application process and show a new unforeseen circumstance or explain why the same unforeseen circumstance continues.
• If the student transfers to another school, the Economic Hardship authorization ends on the SEVIS release date.