A company emailed me a job offer before I arrive. Is that normal?

USCIS warns specifically about job offers made from overseas or by email, and says one that asks you to pay money to receive the offer may be a scam. Verify the company independently before replying with anything personal.

I have a written offer. Does that mean I can work?

No. USCIS states that even a legitimate offer does not permit you to work unless you hold a green card, an employment authorization document, or an employment-related visa allowing you to work for that employer.

I am on an F-1 and someone offered me a part-time job. What first?

Talk to your designated school official before taking it. USCIS says to do this for any job while on a student visa, and your DSO is the person who can say whether it needs CPT or fits your OPT.

OfficialUSCIS — Common Scams · Last verified 17 Aug 2026

What a fake job offer looks like, and why new graduates are targeted

A job offer that arrives by email from overseas, or asks you to pay to receive it, is the shape USCIS names as a scam. And even a real offer does not let you work — that depends on your own status, not on the employer's enthusiasm.

The shape USCIS describes

USCIS warns about companies offering a job in the United States from overseas or by email, and says a suspicious offer received before you leave your country may be a scam — especially if you are asked to pay money to receive a job offer. Where an offer appears on social media, it says to confirm the company is genuine before sharing any personal information at all.

Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01

The part that catches graduates

USCIS states it plainly: even if a job offer is legitimate, you are not allowed to work in the United States unless you have a green card, an employment authorization document, or an employment-related visa permitting you to work for that particular employer. An offer letter is not work authorization. This is where somebody finishing a degree is most exposed — the offer feels like the hard part, and the status question gets treated as paperwork to sort out afterwards.

Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01

Ask your DSO before you accept anything

If you are in the United States on a student visa, USCIS says to talk to your designated school official before you take any job. That is not a formality. Your DSO can tell you whether the work needs CPT, whether it fits your OPT, and whether the employer's arrangement would put your SEVIS record at risk — all before you have committed to anything.

Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01

What has not changed

Genuine employers still recruit international graduates, and being asked for documents at the right moment is normal — an I-9 after you start, for instance, is an ordinary legal requirement. What marks a scam is being asked for money, or for documents before there is a job at all. Ordinary hiring has not become suspicious.

Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01

Before you send anybody your documents

Never pay to receive a job offer. A real employer does not charge you for hiring you.\n- Check the company exists independently — its own site, its address, its listed phone number — rather than through links in the message you were sent.\n- Do not send your passport, I-20, SSN or bank details to confirm an offer. None of those are needed to accept a job.\n- Ask which visa or authorization the role relies on, and check that answer against your own status.\n- If you are a student, ask your DSO before accepting.

Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01

Where people get caught

Paying a fee described as visa processing, training, or an application charge is the commonest version, and the money is gone the moment it moves — which is why these requests come as gift cards or wire transfers. Handing over an I-20 or a passport scan to a stranger who has not proved the company exists is the second, because those documents are enough to attempt identity fraud in your name. And accepting work that pays cash without checking your status is the one that damages you rather than your bank balance: unauthorized employment is a status problem you carry into every application afterwards, and the employer bears none of it.

Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01

Official

Frequently asked questions

A company emailed me a job offer before I arrive. Is that normal?: USCIS warns specifically about job offers made from overseas or by email, and says one that asks you to pay money to receive the offer may be a scam. Verify the company independently before replying with anything personal.
I have a written offer. Does that mean I can work?: No. USCIS states that even a legitimate offer does not permit you to work unless you hold a green card, an employment authorization document, or an employment-related visa allowing you to work for that employer.
I am on an F-1 and someone offered me a part-time job. What first?: Talk to your designated school official before taking it. USCIS says to do this for any job while on a student visa, and your DSO is the person who can say whether it needs CPT or fits your OPT.