Page Comparison

Process

Review EVPP: International Hiring. 

This is the order that you should follow when dealing with faculty candidates who are non-U.S. citizens:

1. Department decides whether to sponsor the faculty member.
2. Review the options that may be available to the candidate. See Texas Global: Department Resources and Texas Global: UT Policy on Hiring Foreign Nationals > "Routes to Work Authorization."
3. Check that basic requirements for the selected work authorization route are met.
4. When contacting the candidate for information required in the PAR, discuss the options available to them for visa classifications.
5. Create the PAR and APProve off the document Creator’s electronic desk.
6. Contact Faculty & Scholar Services in the International Office so they can begin processing the visa request.
7. When the signed letter comes in and the PAR is ACCepted in the Provost’s Office, notify Faculty & Scholar Services of the creation of the assignment and position. The International Office cannot send the request forward to the Department of Labor until the assignment has been approved by the Provost’s Office, so it is important that you notify them when the assignment and position are created.
8. Promptly provide the required initiation documentation so Faculty & Scholar Services can develop the necessary immigration strategies, typically for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa.
9. Keep the faculty candidate informed and in the loop. Be patient and sympathetic. This can be an understandably stressful time for them.

Visas

For long-term employment (including tenure-track positions) in teaching and research, the H-1B visa status is most commonly used. H-1B status can be extended for up to six years and allows transition to permanent residency for qualified foreign nationals.

Texas Global - International Student and Scholar Services recommends initiating the H-1B process in myIO as soon as possible, at least 6-8 months prior to the anticipated/requested employment start date, to determine the best strategy and to leave sufficient time for internal processing, troubleshooting, responding to potential U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Requests for Evidence (RFEs), and enhanced possibility of avoiding USCIS “Premium Processing” fees.

See more information, including instructions for initiating an H-1B petition, at Texas Global: Hiring H-1B Faculty and Staff.

Sponsoring faculty for permanent residency

Permanent Residence is a classification that allows a foreign national to remain indefinitely in the United States with legal, unrestricted work authorization. Only full-time employment of indefinite duration meets the legal criteria for lawful permanent residence. Part-time employment and employment with a fixed duration does not qualify for permanent residence. In most cases, the university will pursue permanent residence for a foreign national through the classification of an "outstanding professor/researcher" or, in the case of tenure-track teaching faculty positions, through “special handling” of the labor certification application. In order to take advantage of the streamlined special handling process, the application must be submitted within 18 months of the offer of employment. Sponsoring departments must initiate this process with ISSS early enough to allow for the preparation of the application.

PERM Special Handling for university teachers

For new tenure-track or tenured international faculty members needing a long-term visa solution, Texas Global strongly recommends departments consider the special route to U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident status called PERM Special Handling for university teachers (PERM SH). Please note that there is an 

in order to benefit from PERM Special Handling. PERM SH should be initiated using myIO no later than 8 months from the date of the offer letter.

Requirements

• The job involves classroom teaching for credit
• Competitive recruitment:

1) Employer must have placed at least one ad (print or online) in a national, professional journal, and

2) Employer must establish that the employee is more qualified that U.S. applicants and maintain clear records to substantiate this.

See more at Texas Global: Sponsoring Faculty and Staff for Permanent Residency.

National Professional Journal ad requirement for international hires

The U.S. Department of Labor requires that employers sponsoring non-U.S. citizens for permanent residency (via the EB-2 Advanced Degree Professionals category of I-140 Petitions) have posted at least one ad (print or online) in a national, professional journal for at least 30 calendar days. Departments should keep this in mind if international candidates will be considered for hire. Documentation of start and end dates of the ad, as well as the text of the ad, will be required for permanent residency applications. For more information, see Texas Global: Hiring International Employees.