International-Friendly Organizations
As an international student, you may also face special challenges in getting internships and jobs in the U.S. Complex and changing immigration regulations, a lack of clear information about which employers hire international students, and cultural differences will require you to spend additional time and effort to learn about employment policies and practices that may affect you. Two articles, Job Tips for International Students and How to Land a Job in the U.S. (as a Foreigner), offer useful advice. Vault also provides several articles on job search strategies for international students. This article from an alumni, on overcoming barriers to international employment, might also be helpful.
You may have concerns about whether employers in the U.S. will hire international students. Online research and networking conversations can help you identify organizations that have hired international workers in the past. As you conduct online research to learn more, consider the following resources.
- The following is a list of companies that have hired Georgetown University F-1 international students on CPT work authorization (Excel spreadsheet) from Jan 2016 to Nov 2020, based on data from the Office of Global Services. Browse by major, undergraduate vs. graduate, and location.
- In addition, a list of companies that have hired Georgetown University F-1 international students on OPT authorization, from June 2018–Nov 2020 (Excel spreadsheet), is available. While the companies on these lists are likely supportive of hiring international students, recruiting practices change frequently.
Top 200 Employers
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security captures data from SEVP-certified schools and active international students to create lists of the top 200 employers who hired pre- and post-completion OPT students (PDF), STEM OPT students (PDF), and CPT students in 2019.
Interstride is a tool to support international students with visa and immigration, networking, and job search. Interstride offers real-time jobs and internship postings from employers that focus on hiring international students (both in your home country and in the U.S.), resources to better understand the complicated visa process and keep up with the latest immigration news, a chat functionality to connect with alumni and other mentors, and monthly workshops and webinars on various topics.
My Visa Jobs identifies employment opportunities for foreign nationals who want to live and work in the U.S. and Canada. Search annually updated lists of employers accepting H-1B visa holders. Sort lists by state, industry, or job title. This site also contains information about work authorizations and information about a variety of industries.
Uniworld (available to Georgetown users only) provides contact information for the headquarters, subsidiaries, and branches of multinational companies in over 200 countries and thousands of industries. In the event you are not chosen for the H1B lottery, there is a chance that a multinational company will relocate you to your home country.
Handshake can also be a useful place to find specific internships and jobs that require special skills international students may have, such as language capabilities. You can filter jobs on Handshake by work authorization requirements, though, these are not always entirely accurate. Read this Handshake article to learn more about how to filter for specific jobs.
International Organizations (PDF)
These international organizations are covered under the International Organizations Immunities Act (1945), and often provide full-time international employees with G-4 status. Students who work for one of these organizations during the program of study must have an F-1 or J-1 work authorization.