How teachers and counselors can help undocumented students earn income

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Never ask a student to tell you their status. Let them share what they choose. For how to support undocumented students more broadly, see How teachers, counselors and pastors can support undocumented students.

Why does this matter?

Students without papers often hear "you can't work" and stop there. That is not the whole truth. Many careers and many kinds of income are open to them. A trusted adult who knows the real options can change what a student believes is possible.

Your job is not to be the expert. It is to open the door, give accurate basics, and connect the student to people who can go deeper.

What is the line between a job and working for yourself?

Federal law says an employer may not knowingly hire someone who is not allowed to work, and must check every employee's papers on Form I-9. Those rules are about employees.

Federal rules say an independent contractor is not an employee for this purpose, and businesses do not fill out Form I-9 for independent contractors. A person who runs their own business, sets their own hours, uses their own tools and serves several clients may be an independent contractor.

Two warnings to share with students:

• The label does not decide it. Federal rules look at how the work really happens. California uses the stricter ABC test: a worker is an employee unless the business shows the worker is free from its control, does work outside its usual business, and runs an independent business of the same kind. A student who is treated like staff is an employee, whatever the paperwork says.
• It is not a workaround. Immigrants Rising, a nonprofit that leads this work, says contracting and freelancing are not a way around the rules for employment. A business cannot use a contract to get the labor of someone it knows is not allowed to work.

Point students to Am I an employee or an independent contractor? and How to earn money working for yourself.

What if my student has a work permit?

Students with DACA or TPS and a valid work permit can be hired like anyone else, including in campus jobs, internships and paid research. Help them:

• Track their end date. DACA renewals should be filed 120 to 150 days before DACA ends. DACA work permits get no automatic extension, so a late renewal can mean a gap in work. See How to renew your DACA step by step.
• Know their rights at work. Employers may not demand a specific document or refuse a valid one. See What papers your employer can ask for.
• Plan a backup. Programs can change. A student with DACA can also build freelance skills now. See What happens to my job if my DACA work permit ends?

Can my student join a state paid work program?

Only with a work permit. California's Learning Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) pays eligible undergraduates for jobs linked to what they are learning. The California Student Aid Commission's LAEP FAQ (December 2023) lists undocumented and AB 540 students among the groups the program is meant to reach, and says students who filed the California Dream Act Application can take part. It also says students must be eligible to work in the U.S. LAEP pays wages, at least the state minimum wage, so it is a job.

What that means for your students:

• With DACA or TPS and a valid work permit: ask your campus financial aid or career office whether they can apply.
• Without a work permit: LAEP is not open to them. Steer them to scholarships, fellowships that are not jobs, and the self employment steps below.

We checked the FAQ on October 21, 2026. Ask your campus LAEP office if the rules have changed.

What if my student has no work permit?

They can still earn. Walk through these steps together, at the student's pace.

1. Start with what they love or do well. Tutoring, design, music, photography, translation, coding, baking, hair and makeup, video editing. Immigrants Rising has a free brainstorming worksheet for this.
2. Research the market. What do others charge? What training, license or certificate does the work need?
3. Check the license question. California law says boards under the Department of Consumer Affairs may not deny a professional license because of immigration status. A 2018 law, SB 695, also lets people use an ITIN for teaching credentials and for CNA, home health aide, EMT and hemodialysis technician certificates. See Professional licenses without a Social Security number.
4. Get a tax number. Most will need an ITIN. The IRS issues ITINs regardless of immigration status, and the ITIN is for taxes only. Before they apply, have them read Is it safe to get an ITIN? and talk to an immigration attorney if they are worried.
5. Learn the taxes. Self employment tax is 15.3% of profit. A tax return is required once net self employment earnings reach $400. If they expect to owe $1,000 or more, the IRS generally wants payments during the year. See How to pay taxes on self employment income with an ITIN.
6. Pick a business setup. Most start as a sole owner. Some form an LLC or a worker cooperative with others. See Sole owner, LLC or worker cooperative.
7. Open a bank account. See Open a bank account with an ITIN or consular ID.
8. Get free training. Immigrants Rising offers free workshops and one on one business support for California residents. ImmigrantBizHub, an online program, says it is open to immigrants regardless of status.

How do I bring this up without making a student feel singled out?

• Teach it to everyone. Present freelancing and entrepreneurship as options for the whole class. Students who need it will take note.
• Use the lesson plan. Immigrants Rising's lesson plan is a one hour workshop for students with and without DACA. It has an icebreaker, stories of undocumented entrepreneurs, an introduction to entrepreneurship and a mindset activity that ends with a brainstorming worksheet. You do not need to be a business expert to lead it.
• Never ask about status in front of others, and do not write a student's status in notes, emails or shared files.
• Share stories of immigrant entrepreneurs, with their permission or from public sources, so students see people like themselves.
• Say it plainly: "There are legal ways to earn money whatever your status. If you want to talk, I'm here."

What can schools and programs do?

If you have a say in your campus or program, consider these steps. Immigrants Rising suggests many of them in its tips for educators.

• Find entrepreneurship training on or near campus that undocumented students can join, like campus incubators or noncredit community college courses. Check each program's own eligibility rule first. Federally funded WIOA Title I workforce programs (such as America's Job Center services) are limited to citizens, nationals, green card holders and others authorized to work (29 U.S.C. 3248(a)(5)), so they are usually closed to undocumented students. Small Business Development Centers set their own: one Bay Area center, the Silicon Valley SBDC, says registering certifies you are a legal resident or citizen, while the San Mateo County SBDC page says its programs are available to everyone. Find a center with America's SBDC, Find your SBDC, and have students ask the center before they register. Tell students never to sign or check a box that is not true about them.
• Partner with a law school clinic that offers free business legal help to the public.
• Host tax and business workshops with your business school or a free tax clinic. See Where to get free tax help if you file with an ITIN.
• Ask about fellowships that are not jobs. UC San Diego tells graduate students without work authorization to ask its undocumented student office about "inclusive fellowships." Ask your campus whether it offers anything similar, and have staff confirm how it is structured.
• Make scholarships open to all. Remove citizenship and Social Security number rules where you can. See Scholarships.
• Keep a referral list of immigration legal help, tax help and business coaching.

What should I never do?

• Never pay a student without a work permit as an employee "off the books." That puts the student and your school at risk.
• Never call someone a contractor while you control their hours and tasks like an employee.
• Never promise an outcome, a job, or that a path is risk free.
• Never give immigration advice. Send students to a lawyer or a DOJ accredited representative. See Warning signs of an immigration scam.
• Never share a student's status without their clear permission.

Who can help?

Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Immigrants Rising: free business support for California residents, an entrepreneurship email list, a Facebook group for immigrant entrepreneurs, and guides for educators. Making Money (Immigrants Rising) and 5 Tips for Educators (Immigrants Rising)
• ImmigrantBizHub: online entrepreneurship learning open regardless of status. ImmigrantBizHub
• Free business coaching: see Free small business coaching in the Bay Area.
• Campus support: every California community college and CSU campus must name a Dreamer Resource Liaison, and UC campuses are encouraged to (Education Code 66021.8). Ask for that person by name. See also Dream Centers and undocumented student programs at Bay Area colleges.
• Immigration legal help: see Free legal help in the Bay Area.

Is there a checklist I can print?

One honest conversation can change a student's whole picture of their future. Thank you for being that person.