Overview

See Texas Global: UT Policy on Hiring Foreign Nationals.

The hiring of faculty who are non-U.S. citizens requires special handling and close coordination with Texas Global. The hiring department will also need to discuss with the faculty candidate their visa options.

Review additional information:

• EVPP: International Hiring
• Texas Global: Hiring International Employees
• Texas Global: myIO for Departments (includes links for initiating visa requests and Lawful Permanent Residency petitions)

Process - hiring non-U.S. citizens

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

See Texas Global: Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR) Procedures.

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. Depending on the strategy implemented, it takes an average of 24-26 months from initiation to obtain permanent residency.

It is recommended that the scholar maintain their underlying H-1B status until permanent residency has been approved and their "Green Card" is in hand.

Once permanent residency is approved, the scholar has employment flexibility, and does not require employer sponsorship to work.

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 

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, posted for at least 30 calendar days. (Start and end dates of the ad, as well as ad text must be documented.)

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.

Roles and responsibilities in hiring non-U.S. citizens

For permanent residency applications, the department's responsibilities include the following:

• Decide whether to sponsor the scholar for permanent residency
• Check that basic requirements are met
• Contact UT International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to initiate the process
• Discuss the best strategy for your scholar with ISSS
• Provide extensive information about the recruitment/search process and results
• Post notifications provided by UT ISSS in the department
• Provide USCIS filing check(s)
• Return signed support letter
  
  

The hire's responsibilities include:

• Attend initial advising session and discuss strategy
• Provide requested documentation (list of letter writers, detailed description of education and experience, copies of immigration documents, copies of diplomas - translated if necessary, attestation letters from experts, completed questionnaires, other documentation as requested)
• Post I-140 steps and maintain LPR status upon receipt
  
  

ISSS will:

• Process initiation
• Review initial documents, and departmental and scholar needs
• Discuss and select strategy
• File labor certification application
• Review Attestation letters
• Complete forms (I-140, I-907)
• Draft letters of reports
• Request checks
• Provide basic I-485 guidance
• other required processes

Visa and permanent residency fees

See Texas Global: ISSS Fees.

Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.

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