As an international student on an F-1 visa, you might be aware that not all employers will consider hiring you in the USA. As you conduct your job and internship search in the USA, it is crucial that you identify employers that will accept CPT, OPT, or sponsor your employment visa. Identifying these employers is no small task, especially considering that companies frequently change their hiring practices and policies.
There are many tools you can use to find potential employers, including Interstride and MyVisaJobs. While you should always conduct your own research to find employers that are good fit for you, we’re publishing a list of employers who hired Duke undergraduate students with OPT last year to help you get started.
Important things to know before reading the list:
- This list is based on OPT application data from 2022. It may not be fully accurate, and employers frequently change their hiring practices.
- There is no guarantee that companies on this list will be open to hiring you.
- Many companies only hire international students for select roles and teams (for example, a company may hire software engineers with OPT but not product managers).
- There are many companies not included on this list that hire international students!
- Organizations that have not previously hired international students might still be open to hiring you.
- For the most up-to-date information, conduct your own research, attend employer information sessions, and connect with alumni and recruiters who work for organizations you’re interested in.
What is OPT?
OPT stands for Optional Practical Training. OPT allows international students on an F-1 visa who have graduated from a U.S. university to stay in the USA and work for up to one year in a job that is directly related to their major. Students who graduate with a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degree are eligible to extend their OPT for an additional two years. For more information on OPT, visit Duke Visa Services’ website.
Employers who hired Duke international undergraduates on OPT in 2022:
- Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries
- Appian Corporation
- Aptera Motors Corporation
- Avenue Securities
- Bank of America
- Bay Area Compliance Laboratories Corp.
- Blackstone
- BNP Paribas
- Brandes Investment Partners
- Caldera Labs Inc.
- Cemtiva
- Credit Suisse AG
- Cisco Systems Inc.
- CData Software, Inc
- Dahlman Rose & Company LLC
- Davidson Kempner
- Dean and Company
- Deutsche Bank Securities Inc
- DMA Labs Inc.
- Duke University
- Ethan Allan
- Evercore Partners Services East LLC
- Facebook, Inc
- Goldman Sachs
- Google LLC
- Grey Group LLC
- Greentown Collaborative, Inc.
- Harbinger Motors Inc.
- IMC Financial Markets
- Innobio USA Inc.
- Investec USA Holdings Corp.
- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
- Link Logistics Real Estate
- McKinsey & Company
- Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Microsoft Corporation
- Morgan Stanley & Co, LLC
- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
- Packable
- Pinterest, Inc.
- Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc
- PROplus Technology, Inc.
- Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
- Rocky Mountain Institute
- Saama Technologies, LLC.
- Salesforce
- Sharma Strategy Group
- Stripe Inc.
- Surgisense
- Tastytrade Inc.
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Two Sigma Investments, LP
- University of California, San Francisco
- Viacom International Services
- Wolfspeed, Inc.
The most common job titles of Duke international undergrads hired with OPT in 2022 were:
- Software Engineer
- Business Analyst
- Analyst
- Investment Banking Analyst
- Data Scientist
- Product Manager
- Associate
- Technical Program Manager
- Test Engineer
- Research Analyst
Remember, your path might not look like everyone else’s, and that’s okay! This is just a small sample of many opportunities that might be available to you in the USA. Don’t limit yourself to this list – explore your own interests and goals, and connect with employers that fascinate you. You never know what might be possible!
