ISSS has sole responsibility to approve appointments of non-immigrants at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Payroll & Human Resources (PHR) system. We verify that the foreign national was lawfully admitted to the US and has the proper authorization for their activities at the University. 

Sponsored by University of Maryland

You can review the application process by visa category for UMD sponsored non-immigrants.

Not sponsored by University of Maryland

Review Eligibility Chart  before entering the appointment in PHR to determine eligibility for non-paid appointment.

Limits on Non-Paid Appointments

• There are no “volunteer” non-paid appointments without a verifiable academic relationship to the foreign national enrolled in a degree seeking program. All other non-paid appointments are funded by fellowships, scholarships, or a salary by a third party.
• "Volunteering" is not permitted when the individual was previously employed to perform such duties per the Fair Labor Standards Act Section 3(e)(4)(a). ISSS is unable to approve a non-paid appointment for someone who was previously paid by UMD.
• ISSS cannot approve a non-paid appointment prior to a foreign national’s paid appointment. 

Appointment Approval Process

1. Route PHR appointment and complete the ORAA Foreign Visitor screening as required.
    
   1. Explain the purpose of the visit in the notes
   2. Confirm that the FN is receiving academic credit or outside funding, if necessary
   3. The PHR appointment must be routed for approval to trigger the feed into iTerp. The FN’s record will be available in iTerp the following day.
2. Download and complete the Volunteer Waiver Form. The department is responsible for retaining a copy of this form in their records. 
3. Complete “Non-Paid Appointment” request in iTerp. The form will require you to upload supporting documents by immigration status. 
4. ISSS will review the appointment within two weeks from the submission of the request in iTerp.  The ISSS reviewer will reach out to the department if additional information is required.