Various legal restrictions posed on F1 student visa make the job search process especially difficult for international students studying in the United States. Understanding those legal restrictions is crucial for F1 Students who want to look for employment opportunities in the United States. However, many international students do not realize that there are many legal ways to earn passive income that will help their stay abroad.

Our partners at MYRA, a professional advisory company providing personal finances for international and multicultural families in the United States, shared their insights into legal ways international students can earn passive income.

1. Renting Out a Room

The safest way to start earning passively while studying abroad as an international student is turning a profit from renting out your room. It is especially legal, if you let a property management company do the work while you pay them for maintenance. If this is the case, you will need a social security number. Not having one may cost you more money with different tax implications. 

2. Investing

If you have some understanding of the stock market, investing in stocks is a legal way to generate passive income. It’s important that you make no more than 4 trades per week, since making more trades than that will be counted as day-trading, a known profession.

3. Publishing your Work to Non-U.S. Countries

Although you can’t submit your writing, such as books and manuscripts, for publication and profit to the United States, you can do so to non-U.S. countries. For example, you can submit your work and get published in the UK while generating income through royalties. Any royalties you acquire fall under the passive income category in the U.S.,which allows you to legally generate income as a F1 student. 

4. Entering Competitions

Any form of prizes you win from competitions, including lottery contests and cash prize competitions, fall under the passive income category. This also applies to competitions that have nothing to do with your studies. No matter how much money you accumulate, you’re staying within legal restrictions.

Many legal restrictions placed on the F1 Student Visa make earning an income tricky for international students in the United States. However, there are a number of ways F1 students can earn income without running into the legal restrictions of their visa. To learn more, check out the full article at MYRA.