{"id":2156,"date":"2024-05-31T16:36:51","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T20:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/iso\/?page_id=2156"},"modified":"2024-08-30T11:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T15:19:24","slug":"work-vs-volunteer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/iso\/current-students\/working\/work-vs-volunteer\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteering, Employment, and Unpaid Internships"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"parent":576,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-2156","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"lead_in":"","display_title":"","subtitle":"","call_to_action":"","hero_image_placement":"no_image","hero_media":"images","hero_pattern_option":"","hero_video":"","hero_image_landing":"","hero_image_landing_two":"","hero_image_landing_three":"","content_modules":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-15","title":"","content":"While the term \u201cvolunteer\u201d is often used to refer to unpaid work generally, it represents a complex area in which immigration regulations and labor laws intersect. If you are interested in volunteering or participating in an unpaid internship*, you must be aware of the relevant regulations in order to maintain your F-1or J-1 status.\r\n\r\n*<\/em>We are using the term \u201cinternship\u201d to refer to all unpaid experiences offered by for-profit organizations, such as \u201cexternship\u201d, \u201cmicro-internship\u201d, and \u201cemployer project\u201d.<\/em>\r\n\r\nIf you are an international student in F-1 or J-1 status, please remember that\u00a0any off-campus employment for F-1 or J-1 students must be authorized!\u00a0<\/strong>Without proper work authorization, off-campus employment would be considered a violation of your status. The consequences may include loss of valid immigration status in the U.S. and great difficulty in reacquiring lawful status in the future.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"

Definitions: Volunteer vs. Employee<\/h2>","content":"According to the\u00a0Department of Labor<\/a>, volunteers are individuals who \u201cdonate their services, usually on a part-time basis, for\u00a0public services, religious or humanitarian objectives<\/strong>, not as employees and without expectation of pay\u201d. Additionally, the Department of Labor specifies that such services can only be provided to \u201creligious, charitable or similar\u00a0non-profit<\/strong>\u00a0organizations\u201d.\u00a0Based on this definition, it is not possible to volunteer for a private sector, for-profit organization.<\/u><\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhile there is a highly specific definition of what constitutes volunteerism, employment is not so easily defined. Employment can be understood to be any activity in which an individual works or performs a service in exchange for wages or other remuneration. Please note that the term \u201cremuneration\u201d is quite broad and includes a variety of non-monetary benefits, such as free housing, food, gifts, etc.\r\n\r\nPlease note that it is never legal to \u201cvolunteer\u201d (work without pay) for a normally paid position (work that people are typically paid to do), as this would constitute an unfair labor arrangement.<\/u><\/strong>","background_color":"#f4f4f4","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"

What is volunteering?<\/h3>","content":"To meet the Department of Labor\u2019s definition of volunteerism (and thus not require CPT or any other work authorization), the work performed by the individual must meet the following criteria (this list is not exhaustive):\r\n