Increased Denials & Delays in some US Visa Categories, Rajiv in QnA, Feb 12, 2025
Nonimmigrant Visas
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Can I volunteer with a Non-Profit while on any temporary visa (for example, F-1 OPT)?
Question details
I am on F1 OPT and working for a company. I have a few questions:
1. Am I eligible to volunteer with a nonprofit organization related to my field if the work involves event organization (webinar or In-person training)?
2. If I volunteer to review research papers or articles in my field, would that be considered permissible, or would it be classified as work?
FAQ Transcript
Yes, you can volunteer while on a temporary visa as long as you are not compensated in cash or kind.
For F-1 OPT, if the volunteer work is meant to count toward your OPT compliance, it must be at least 20 hours per week and related to your field of study. If it’s purely additional volunteer work (e.g., helping at events, reviewing research papers) and not counted for OPT compliance, there’s no issue, but check with your DSO.
However, you cannot volunteer for a for-profit company, as that could violate labor laws, though the violation would be on the company’s part, not yours.
F-1 Visa
We were approached by the parents of an applicant whose application for an F-1 visa had been denied based on Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (possible immigrant).Normally, we would have not been able to do much. But in this case, the visa applicant had already visited USA three times in the past and left in time.While it was true that her entire family lived in USA, the fact remained that she had never violated any US laws, despite having an opportunity to do so. We filed for reconsideration.
Status
F-1 visa granted.