One of the questions often asked by the students is, "Can they do freelance work when they're in the U.S.?". Now, this is really tricky if we follow the word of the law based on your F-1 student visa status, you can only work on campus and you can only work on campus for 20 hours a week minus internships and minus CPT minus OPT.
Have a look at this short video on what Mr. Patriek Karayil, an MIT graduate and a Former Vice President of U.S. News Global Education, has there to offer as guidance to all the aspiring students.