Alternatives to Employment

For undocumented students there are a number of additional ways to gain professional skills and sometimes even earn an income. There is a great webinar produced by TheDreamUs, which goes through Career and Income Options for Undocumented Students in depth. The highlights of these options are included below:

Option	Benefits	Resources
Independent Contractors	Use ITIN or EIN to legally earn a living as long as you pay taxes (subject to self-employment tax)	Tutoring is the most common form of independent contract work among students
Start a Business or form a LLC	Avoids questions related to immigration status Exempt from freelance laws Access to financial capital for business Identity protection Lower health insurance premiums for individuals who are business owners	Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship Center – classes, one-on-one advising and even funding for getting a company started Limited Liability Company Center – Frequently Asked Questions Limited Liability Company Center – Can a Non-Resident of the United States Form or Own an LLC? LLC information by State
Fellowships	Professional development opportunity May allow you to pursue unfunded summer opportunities	Immigrants Rising Fellowships Career Services Summer Funding Program
Volunteer

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Handshake is Career Services’ powerful platform for University of Pennsylvania students, postdocs and alumni served by our office.  Handshake uses …

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Use Penn’s Alumni Directory MyPenn (formerly QuakerNet) to search for fellow classmates or update your contact information.

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Obtaining a Driver’s License as an Undocumented ImmigrantShare This: Share Obtaining a Driver’s License as an Undocumented Immigrant on FacebookShare Obtaining a Driver’s License as an Undocumented Immigrant on LinkedInShare Obtaining a Driver’s License as an Undocumented Immigrant on X
Information that can assist undocumented students a driver’s license, which may be a requirement for some jobs.

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A directory of 500+ employers with dedicated diversity hiring programs consolidated by Gorick Ng.

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Forage invented the virtual work experience. We give any student, from any diverse starting point in the world, the chance …

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