In the US, it's very clear. If they don't have work authorization from USCIS, they shouldn't be doing work. There's some guidelines out there on the internet [1], but the students should be extremely careful; any form of compensation or expectation of future compensation for their work could put them in serious trouble. The University of Michigan has a more fleshed out guideline page for their international students [2].

[1] https://marksgray.com/immigration-blog/can-foreign-nationals...

[2] https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/students/employment-vo...

Musk is lucky enforcement wasn't as strict back then.

Cannot citizenship be revoked for past violations?

There are acceptable grounds for revocation of naturalization [1], but I'm not sure that having previously violated visa terms necessarily qualifies. The question becomes was he lawfully admitted to permanent residency, and was there a concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation involved in the process. We would need to really see his immigration file and have knowledge of the dates he was in the US, and when he performed work.

[1] https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-l-chapter...

Not really. It has only happened a couple times in hundreds of years and was about foreign spys

> but are they absolutely prohibited from work of any kind?

Generally yes.

But you can have on-campus jobs to supplement your income, and there are at least two programs (CPT and OPT) that let you get approval for limited-term employment in your area of study. CPT also requires university approval.

Both would require university approval. OPT is literally structured as a course at the university.

You can also do OPT "post-completion" of your degree - this also gives your (new) employer some time to apply for a longer-term work visa.

And you need to get work authorization (EAD card) for that. It’s not a given

She was on a tourist visa. She should have gotten a J-1 visa who can do 20 hours/week part time work with some constraints. Some details about this visa: https://yfuusa.org/2024/05/16/j1-student-visa/

Basically.