For organizations
Welcome international graduates into your organization
Every year, thousands of international students finish U.S. degrees and look for a place to contribute. Mission-driven organizations can welcome them as volunteers, part-time contributors, or equity-compensated teammates — and gain skilled, motivated people who are genuinely invested in the work.
Why organizations welcome OPT graduates
These are the reasons organizations tell us they keep coming back for a second and third placement.
Skills you could not otherwise reach
Recent graduates arrive with current training in data science, software engineering, public health, finance, and design. For a small organization, this is access to expertise that would otherwise sit far outside reach.
Genuine, durable motivation
A graduate joining your organization is building the opening chapter of a career. That produces a level of care and follow-through that is difficult to buy at any price.
Volunteer roles are permitted
Some types of organizations are better positioned to welcome graduates as volunteers, which is expressly allowed on OPT. Your mission moves forward without adding payroll cost.
Global perspective by default
Graduates who have lived in more than one country notice things a domestic-only team does not — how a program reads to a newcomer, which assumptions do not travel, where translation quietly fails.
Flexible, part-time, remote
Most placements are part-time and remote, so you can bring someone on for a specific project or a standing need without reshaping how your team already works.
A real difference to a real person
Without a role, a graduate's time in the U.S. can end on a deadline. Welcoming one into your organization keeps a career alive — the rare arrangement where both sides gain something that matters.
Ways to work together
There is no single correct arrangement. Organizations structure these placements in whichever way fits their budget and stage.
Volunteer contributor
Common for many small organizations. The graduate contributes their skills to your mission on an unpaid, part-time basis, which OPT permits.
Equity-compensated teammate
Common for early startups with more conviction than cash. The graduate joins for equity or a future-facing arrangement instead of salary.
Project-based collaborator
A defined piece of work with a clear beginning and end — a data audit, a website rebuild, a grant analysis, a program evaluation.
Part-time paid role
If you have budget, a modest part-time arrangement works too. Many organizations begin here and expand as the fit becomes obvious.
Browse candidate profiles
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How OPT works, briefly
OPT (Optional Practical Training) lets international graduates work in the U.S. in a field related to their degree after finishing their studies. The part most organizations have never heard:
- Graduates have a limited window to find a qualifying role, and unused time counts against them.
- Volunteer and unpaid work is permitted, provided it relates to the graduate's field of study.
- The role must be at least 20 hours per week to maintain status.
- Your organization does not file a petition or pay a government fee to welcome someone on OPT.
- STEM graduates may be eligible for a longer period, which makes a standing arrangement more workable.
Ready to meet a few graduates?
Tell us the skills you need and the kind of arrangement that fits your organization. We will send a short list of graduates whose background matches, usually within 48 hours.