Unpaid Academic Internship on H4 visa

USA H4 Visa
1

I have a question on H4 visa holders doing unpaid internship.

I am an H4 visa holder without EAD undergoing training as an Ayurvedic Health Counsellor in the US in a WASC accredited institute.

Part of our training requires us to complete clinical practice (called internship) for which students need to find clients and can (optionally) charge a nominal amount from them.

I want to know if it is legal for me as an H4 visa holder without an EAD to do this internship if I do not take any payment from the clients.

2

I don’t think you can do the internship even if it is unpaid if you don’t have a work permit.

I suggest to take attorney’s opinion too. You can contact these attorneys for free advice.

3

I looked into something similar a while ago; unpaid volunteering with nonprofits … you have to be careful since you could be displacing a worker who could be paid

4

We explored this but there is absolute limitation of doing it in your own field. So social services etc can be done but if you want to build your own skills without getting paid (NOPE). So ended up not doing it.

This is based on our understanding of the rules.

5

Thanks to everyone for the advice!