{"id":17292,"date":"2026-03-02T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/?page_id=17292"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T18:07:41","slug":"hardship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/current-students\/hardship\/","title":{"rendered":"Severe Economic Hardship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If an eligible F-1 student is experiencing severe, unexpected financial hardship beyond their control, they may apply for temporary off-campus work authorization through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The job does not need to be related to the student\u2019s major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-bc-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background\">General Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If USCIS approves your request, you may work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Up to 20 hours per week while school is in session<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Up to 40 hours per week during official school breaks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You may work only while your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is valid. If you do not maintain F-1 status or transfer to another school, your work authorization ends and you must stop working immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-bc-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background\">Required Conditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>You\u00a0must<\/strong> have been in F-1 status for one full academic year\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You\u00a0must<\/strong> be in good academic standing\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You\u00a0must<\/strong> prove to USCIS that work authorization is necessary because you are in severe hardship caused by circumstances beyond your control and were unpredictable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You\u00a0must<\/strong> prove that other employment opportunities such as on-campus jobs are unavailable or insufficient.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You\u00a0must<\/strong>\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0that\u00a0employment will not interfere with your full-time study.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-bc-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background\">How to Apply<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meet with your\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/current-students\/advising\/\">International Advisor<\/a>\u00a0to discuss your situation and eligibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prepare all required documents to submit to USCIS. File your application online or by mail.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Complete\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/i-765\">Form I-765<\/a>\u00a0using the code\u00a0<strong>(c)(3)(iii)<\/strong>\u202fin\u00a0the\u202fEligibility Category.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pay the Form I-765 filing fee:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By credit or debit card using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/g-1450\">Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transaction<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By ACH debit transactions from a U.S. bank account using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/g-1650\">Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transaction<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two (2) passport photos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A letter explaining your severe economic hardship, how your circumstances are beyond your control and why on-campus work opportunities are unavailable or insufficient.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A copy of\u00a0your I-20 with your International Advisor\u2019s recommendation for Severe Economic Hardship\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Photocopies of your valid passport picture page, F-1 visa, and your most recent I-94 record.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are filing paper application to USCIS:&nbsp;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make a copy of everything for your reference.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mail the documents to:&nbsp;&nbsp;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>USCIS Chicago Lockbox using U.S. Postal Service (USPS):<\/strong> \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>USCIS&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attn: I-765 C03&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>P.O. Box 805373&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chicago, IL 60680-5374&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries (allows tracking)<\/strong>: \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>USCIS&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attn: I-765 C03 (Box 805373)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>131 South Dearborn &#8211; 3rd Floor&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chicago, IL 60603-5517&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/current-students\/advising\/\">International Advisor<\/a> if you have any questions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If an eligible F-1 student is experiencing severe, unexpected financial hardship beyond their control, they may apply for temporary off-campus work authorization through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The job does not need to be related to the student\u2019s major. General Overview If USCIS approves your request, you may work: Up to 20 hours <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/current-students\/hardship\/\">...more about Severe Economic Hardship<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3586,"featured_media":0,"parent":34,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-17292","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3586"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17292"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17704,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17292\/revisions\/17704"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bellevuecollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}