H-1B Visa Category
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UAF H-1B Policy
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS - PETITION FOR NONIMMIGRANT STATUS FOR TEMPORARY WORKER
You can view a copy of the signed policy memo here (PDF).
The University of Alaska Fairbanks , in exceptional cases, will petition the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for visa category H-1B.
The H-1B is a nonimmigrant status held by a foreign national performing services in a “specialty occupation.” A specialty occupation requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge to fully perform the occupation, and the attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the U.S. H-1B status can appropriately be used by academic and research departments for visiting faculty and researchers.
The petition to USCIS represents a firm commitment by the employing department to fully fund the beneficiary for the entire period of time requested. USCIS will hold the employer liable for the H-1B worker’s return transportation costs if the worker is dismissed from employment before the end of the period of authorized stay.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will restrict this process to faculty and researchers in positions requiring the PhD or terminal degree in the field, and to information technology specialists supporting academic computing and networking. Requests for exceptions to this policy must be submitted to the Provost prior to the processing of the H-1B request. Additionally, only individuals appointed to full-time positions will be considered for the H-1B status. All UA and UAF policies and regulations regarding recruitment must be followed. As such, direct appointments will not be eligible for the H-1B status without specific, written authorization from the UAF HR Director.
Requests for H-1B will be processed through the Office of International Programs (OIP). [Edit: now formally the Office of International Programs & Initiatives (IPI)]
Susan Henrichs
Provost
Date: 6/11/2008
H-1B Application Process
In the H-1B process, the University is the applicant and the proposed employee is the beneficiary.
UAF Policy restricts the request of H1B to faculty and researchers in positions requiring the PhD or terminal degree, and to information technology specialists supporting academic computing and networking. If you are requesting a position that does not meet these requirements, please write a memo to the Provost requesting an exception to the policy including the rationale for employing a non-citizen in a staff or APT position. Include the individual’s vita with your request. If the Provost approves your request, forward the approval with the documents in Section A below.
- Under federal regulations, the minimum requirements for an H-1B, Specialty Occupation visa are:
1) 20 CFR 655.715 defines the specialty occupation as “an occupation that requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree (or its equivalent) in the specific specialty as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States.” and
2) the proposed employee must meet the degree requirements of the position.
The H-1B category is very limited in that it is employer specific (cannot work for another employer if UAF is the designated employer), position specific (if the individual changes positions or responsibilities are significantly changed or receives a significant pay increase, a new application must be filed), and location specific (e.g., cannot move from Fairbanks to Juneau as an assistant professor without filing a new application). H1B can be co-employed if initially requested (e.g., G.I and the ARSC or UAF and UAA)
H1B is an employer’s request for a temporary employee in a specialty field. An individual may not apply for the H1B. The H1B is limited to 6 years in 3-year (or less) increments. The time is cumulative, e.g. two years with employer A is added to two years with employer B, which would leave only two years for an employer B extension or an employer C. If your prospective employee has been in H or L visa category a cumulative of 6 years in the past 6 years without a 12-month stay in their home country, they are not eligible for the H category. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) recognizes the “dual purpose” of the H-1B in that permanent residency (“green card”) may be requested from H-1B status.
NOTE: The H-1B status does NOT have a grace period. Employment authorization ends on the last day of employment and the individual and related dependents must leave the U. S. immediately. the only exception is a timely filed extension petition received by the service center before the authorization end date.
Initial Applications
To request an H1B visa, complete the attached UAF H-1B Authorization Request Form and return it with the items listed in Section A below. Items in Section B may follow at a later date but all of the information must be received in order to complete the application. The beneficiary (proposed employee) needs to complete the personal section. Specific dates of previous visa categories are required. If the individual currently or at any previous time has held an “H” or “L” visa category, copies of those authorizations must be attached (see Section B, below). If dependents are accompanying, see instructions in Section C.
A. The department (applicant) submits the following items:
- Checklist for UAF department use (PDF).
- Completed UAF H-1B Authorization Request Form
- Complete and approved Export Certification Request Form. For additional information, see the fact sheet about export control.
- Provost’s approval of request if the position is not faculty or research faculty position
- Copy of position description and copy of advertisement
- Copy of UAF Personnel authorization to hire
- Copy of letter of offer (contract) with salary and conditions, to include additional workload
- Original of the completed Actual Wage Calculation Form. If this is a position under the United Academics contract, please indicate. If the salary offered is not at the lowest entry level salary of the assigned range or professorial rank, attach to the Actual Wage form a full, clear explanation of the system that was used to set the actual wage offered to the prospective employee (20 CFR 655.731(b) and 20 CFR 655.760(a)). If there is a significant difference between the individual and any of the employees listed, an explanation of the difference must be included.
- A letter from the dean or director (hiring authority), preferably not exceeding one-page in length, addressed to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service, briefly outlining your search procedure and why this applicant is the best of your finalists (particularly if any finalist(s) are U.S. citizen(s) or permanent resident(s)). If teaching responsibilities are not outlined specifically in the letter of contract (offer), those responsibilities should be specifically mentioned in this letter (course numbers, frequency, percentage of responsibility that applicant has for the course(s)). Einstein sample letter
- Two checks from the department for $325 (filing fee) and $500 (fraud detection), each made out to U.S. Department of Homeland Security, California Service Center. The UA vendor ID is U39428, address sequence 16. The checks must accompany the application so the purchase requests must be clearly marked “DO NOT MAIL”.
B. Personal information from the proposed employee (beneficiary):
- Copy of passport (all pages) and I-94 both sides (if individual is currently in the U.S. )
- Copy of all I-20s, IAP-66s or DS-2019s (both sides) if the individual is currently or has been in U.S. in F-1 or J-1 visa category. Copy of any employment authorization card(s) (both sides).
- Copy of any H or L authorizations, including current H-1B if in U.S. as a temporary employee with a different employer or if this is a request for extension of current UAF employee.
- Copy of current vita/resume
- Certified copy of transcript*, certified translation into English if not originally in English.
- Copy of diplomas* with a certified translation into English if not originally in English.
- If the individual has applied for permanent residency (green card), include copies of all immigration form(s) I-797, Notice of Action, that pertain to the permanent residency application.
* Non-U.S. and Canadian degrees must be accompanied by a formal educational credential evaluation, documenting the comparable U.S. degree. The evalution must include a description of verifying documents, not just a summary of findings as well as the credentials of the evaluators providing the evaluation.
We recommend using ECE: Educational Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org). When ordering a credential evaualtion, please request a general evaluation for immigration purposes.
C. Dependents
- If beneficiary and dependents are not in the U.S. , when the beneficiary goes to the U.S. Embassy/Consulate for the interview, the spouse and children need to go with the beneficiary. They must take documents proving relationship (marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc.
- If the beneficiary and dependents are in the U.S. and are requesting a change of visa category or change of employer, or extension, the Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, with personal payment of $290 (a U.S. Postal Money Order is preferred), must accompany the UAF application to USCIS (immigration). The Form I-539 applicant (first person named) is the dependent, not the individual that UAF is filing the H petition for.
The form I-539 may be downloaded from the website: IMMIGRATION FORMS
Minimum processing time with USCIS is nine weeks (average time is 16 weeks/4 months). USCIS also has a Premium Processing service (for an additional $1,225 paid by the employer) and will process the application in 15 days (does not guarantee approval). The check should be made payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security and delivered to International Programs & Initiatives to be attached to the petition.
Transfers of H-1B Authorization to UAF
For individuals already in the U.S. and currently employed in H-1B status, evidence of current employment must be provided. This can include copies of recent pay stubs (online or hard copy) and a copy of the prior year W-2. This information should be treated as confidential and may be submitted directly by the individual to UAF International Programs & Initiatives. This is in addition to the information needed in Sections A and B above (including a formal educational credential evaluation, documenting the comparable U.S. degree for all non-U.S. or Canadian degrees).
NOTE: The H-1B status does NOT have a grace period. The prospective H-1B beneficiary MUST NOT RESIGN from the current employment until UAF has received the Notice of Action Receipt Notice from the immigration service center. If dependents will need an extension of status to match the requested extension authorization end date, and wish the extension application to accompany the change of employer petition, information in the second bullet of Section C above must be included.
Please contact our office if you have questions or need additional information.
Extensions
Extensions for up to a maximum of a combined total extension period of three years may be requested. USCIS recommends that the extension requests be filed 60 to 90 days prior to the current authorization expiration. If the extension request is timely filed, the beneficiary may continue employment while USCIS adjudicates the extension request even if the current period of stay expires. If, for some reason, the extension request is denied, the beneficiary must be terminated from employment as of the date IPI receives the Notice of Action (Form I-797) from USCIS and notifies the department.
A. The department (applicant) submits the following items:
- Completed UAF H-1B Authorization Request Form
- Complete and approved Export Certification Request Form. For additional information, see the fact sheet about export control.
- Copy of current contract letter with salary and conditions, to include additional workload
- Original of the completed Actual Wage Calculation Form. If this is a position under the United Academics contract, please include that information. Also indicate comparability of positions with explanations for any significant salary differences with comparable positions.
- A letter from the dean or director (hiring authority), preferably not exceeding one-page in length, addressed to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service, briefly outlining your search procedure and why you wish this individual to be continued. If teaching responsibilities are not outlined specifically in the letter of contract (offer), those responsibilities should be specifically mentioned in this letter (course numbers, frequency, percentage of responsibility that applicant has for the course(s)).
- One check from the department for $325 (filing fee) made out to U.S. Department of Homeland Security, California Service Center. The UA vendor ID is U39428, address sequence 16. The check must accompany the application so the purchase request must be clearly marked “DO NOT MAIL”. Note: the $500 fraud detection fee is not required for extension requests for current UAF H-1B employees.
B. Personal information from the proposed employee (beneficiary):
- Copy of passport (all pages) if it is has been reissued
- Current I-94 (both sides)
- Copy of current vita/resume
- Certified copy of transcript, certified translation into English if not originally in English*.
- If the individual has applied for permanent residency (green card), include copies of all immigration form(s) I-797, Notice of Action, that pertain to the permanent residency application.
- Copy of prior year W-2 and most recent 2-4 pay stubs (uaonline is acceptable).
* If an educational credential evaluation was not submitted with the initial petition request, non-U.S. and Canadian degrees must be accompanied by a formal educational credential evaluation, documenting the comparable U.S. degree. The evaluation must include a description of verifying documents, not just a summary of findings
C. Dependents
- Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, with personal payment of $290 (a U.S. Postal Money Order is preferred), must accompany the UAF application to USCIS (immigration). The Form I-539 applicant (first person named) is the dependent, not the individual (prospective employee or continuing employee) for whom UAF is filing the H petition.
- Copy of passport (all pages) if it is has been reissued
- Copy of current I-94 (both sides)
End of Employment Issues
If the H-1B employment ends before the approved H-1B authorization period, the employer must request termination of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) authorization as well as the immigration status from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). Liability for accrued salary and benefits could be assessed to the employer for the period following the end of employment through the cancellation date should a complaint be filed with the DOL.
If the employer ends the employment before the end of the authorization period for any reason (termination for cause, lack of funding for contract renewal, etc.), under U.S. immigration regulations the employer is liable to provide reasonable costs of return transportation of the alien abroad. Documentation of the plane ticket purchase or cash in lieu of ticket purchase must be forwarded to the OIPI. (8CFR214.2(h)(4)(iii)(E))
Should the employee voluntarily resign or the employment and authorization end at the same time, there is no liability for return transportation to the employer.
Departments facing the departure of individuals in H-1B status before the authorization end date should contact the OIPI as soon as the anticipated departure plans are known.