Modelling

International Students
1

Hello,

I am international student and I am here on F1 visa. I am pursuing my masters in computer science now.
After my graduation can i join modelling course so that i can get chance to work as modelling later.

2

Modeling as in fashion modeling (runways, photo shoots) or data modeling (statistics, economics) or something else entirely?

Regardless, you will need a visa that allows you to do whatever it is you are planning. Here’s the visa options for your “modeling course.”

  • If it's a part-time course, you are allowed to pursue it on OPT as long as you are also working a full-time job that's related to your computer science degree.
  • If it leads to an academic degree, you can pursue it in F-1 status.
  • If it's full-time vocational training that does not lead to a degree, the course may qualify for M-1 status. (The school would have to be approved by USCIS to sponsor M-1 visas. That applies to many formal vocational schools, but not to most "coding/data/... bootcamps" that are mushrooming in Silicon Valley right now.)

Working afterwards gets even tricker. If we are talking about data modeling, you can start to work in that field on the OPT from your CS Master’s degree, and then you’d have to find an employer to sponsor an H-1B visa later.

If we are talking about fashion modelling, you cannot do that on the OPT from your CS degree because fashion modeling is not related to computer science. There’s an H-1B3 visa for fashion models. It’s restricted to models of “distinguished merit and ability” (which your employer or agency will have to document) and not meant for people just entering the business. You cannot work in the fashion business at all until your work visa goes through, which will take at least half a year. (H-1B visa petitions need to be submitted in the first week of April, and are valid for work starting October 1 if approved.)

You may also consider an O-1B visa or a P visa for artists and entertainers, but they both require either significant achievements in your industry or a very specific type of work.

If you pursued your modeling course on an M-1 visa, you are granted 1 month of practical training for every 4 months of education after you finish the program. (So e.g. 2 months of practical training if you attend a 9-month course. No practical training if the course was only 3 months long.)