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Necessary Documentation for Employment

Necessary Documentation for Employment
7/2/2012
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Radha Jhatakia

As we get older, one of the necessities of life is to always have legal identification with us – a piece of paper or plastic card that confirms who we are. A most basic form that many of us have is a driver’s license but if you want to work or intern, you’ll have to provide specific identification depending on where you’ll be employed.

When applying for a job or internship, you’ll need legal documentation to prove citizenship status within the U.S. and/or eligibility to work in the U.S. The most common forms of identification that you are allowed to use are a birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, state identification card, social security card, school ID and military ID, though there are others. Unless the document you have has both your picture and social security information, which proves citizenship such as a passport, you will need two documents. (One of these documents must have your full name, state of residence, picture, and/or SSN if the other document provides the rest.) This is the bare minimum for jobs and internships in the United States.

If you are looking to work abroad or even study abroad, you will need some additional documents. Students wishing to study abroad will need a visa but the type of visa depends on the length of the time you will be traveling and the country you are going go. The most common type of visa for students is the F-1, which allows the students a small period of time after their education period is over to stay in the country. If one wishes to work abroad, a different type of visa is required; however, it also depends on if it's a U.S. company with a location in another country or if it is a foreign company. Most likely, you will need an international work visa...but don’t wait until the last minute to procure what you need: There is a process that should be started a minimum of six to eight months prior to traveling in order to have the documents on time.

Radha Jhatakia is a communications major at San Jose State University. She's a transfer student who had some ups and downs in school and many obstacles to face; these challenges – plus support from family, friends and cat – have only made Radha stronger and have given her the experience to help others with the same issues. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, cooking, sewing and designing. A social butterfly, Radha hopes to work in public relations and marketing upon graduation.

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