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I am an international student on F1 visa. Can I day trade US stocks?

As a day trader I will be placing multiple buy sell orders within a day. Is there any limit to number of orders that I can place per day?

Is there a maximum limit on dollar value of trades? Is it legal for me to trade given I'd pay my taxes due on my trading profits?

I will be trading solely for myself. Will it be considered work and hence illegal?

I know long-term investing is allowed for F1 visa holders given they are in good academic standing and their visa status is maintained. Is day trading allowed too?

Chris W. Rea
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user72179
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1 Answers1

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In the U.S., a Pattern Day Trader is one who executes more than 3 day trades (options and equities) in a rolling 5 business days in a margin account, provided the number of day trades is more than six percent of the total trading activity for that same five-day period.

A PDT must maintain a minimum equity of $25k in a margin account on any day that trades are made and must be in the account prior to the day trading. If the account drops below $25k, no day trades will be allowed until the account is restored to the $25k minimum equity level.

A PDT is allowed intraday to trade four times the maintenance margin excess in the account as of the close of business of the previous day but must revert to the standard 50% margin by the end of the current day. Brokers have the right to set more restrictive levels of margin.

Be advised that 90% of wannabe get rich quick day traders blow out their account in less than a year so succeeding with this idea might be a lot harder than the gleam of easy money that you're visualizing.

How any of this interfaces with your country of origin is beyond my pay grade.

Bob Baerker
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