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Spring 2023 Updates

Welcome Back Academic Colleagues,

Happy New Year! It’s good to be back on campus from our winter break. ISSS is pleased to welcome two new Program Specialists to our ISSS Faculty/Scholar Advising Team, Ash Reynolds and Elizabeth Floyd. The addition of these positions to our team will add resources for processing immigration requests and reduce response time for your questions.  

Ash Reynolds has been a member of the ISSS Faculty/Scholar Advising team since 2019. They are transitioning from a contractual position into a Program Specialist. Ash graduated with their MA in International Education Policy from UMD in 2019.  They have 5.5 years of experience working in the field of international exchange and immigration application processing. 

 

Elizabeth Floyd is moving to ISSS from the Department of Sociology where she served as a Graduate Coordinator since 2016.  She has 6.5 years of experience working on campus providing administrative and program support to students in the program. Ms. Floyd has her BA in Sociology. 

 

H-1 and J-1 Processing Updates

As we prepare for the faculty hiring season and August 1, 2023, it is time to conduct a review of the expiration dates for your international faculty and scholars’ immigration statuses, specifically F-1 OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, E-3 and O-1 visas. 

  • Please review the status of your international employees with their respective supervisors and determine what next steps will be required to continue employment eligibility. We want to maximize the time required for extension of status, to provide time for the international faculty to renew drivers licenses, or spousal employment authorizations.

U.S. Consulates/Embassies - Visa Issuance

 

  • New The State Department is extending its policy to waive visa interviews for students and exchange visitors(J-1) through December 31, 2023. The policy, issued in 2021, is effective through 2023 and permits select H-1B, O-1 and J-1 applicants with a previously approved visa to request a waiver of the visa interview. Visa applicants must apply for a visa while physically present in their country of nationality or residence. The foreign national  will be required to complete the DS-160, visa application, and pay all associated visa fees when applying. The visa applicant will be responsible for emailing the consulate to request the waiver. 
  • New Effective January 5, 2023, airline passengers, whose travel originates in the following countries; mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, or Macau SAR must provide either a negative COVID test result taken no more than 2 days before their flight or documentation of COVID recovery in order to travel to the United States. For further details on the new requirements please visit the CDC website.
  • We continue to monitor U.S. government entry restrictions and the operations of U.S. embassies and consulates with regard to visa issuance. Please visit the Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs website for visa wait times if you would like more information around planning your visa interview appointment. 

Contracts, PHR, I-9, and iTerp

As you prepare for your new international faculty hires, we would like to share processing tips.

 

  • Elevate launch is scheduled for July 1, 2023.  Please plan to request your visas early for August and to take the conversion to Workday into your planning.
  • For new international hires planned for Fall 2023 with 9-month appointments, the contract dates must match the academic calendar, but the iTERP and PHR appointment dates need to be the same., e.g., for 3 years, use 7/30/2023-7/29/2026.
    • I-9 will reflect that actual first day of employment for the employee
    • Employees should be informed that benefits will begin on 8/1
  • For new international hires for Fall 2023 with 12-month appointments, the contract, iTerp, PHR, and I-9 dates reflect the actual dates of employment.
    • The employee’s actual dates of employment must be within their authorized period of status
  • I-9 reverification must be completed on or prior to the last day of status for the initial period of status.
  • To be eligible for an H-1B, part-time teaching positions require a minimum of 10 hours; research positions require a minimum of 20 hours.
  • All J-1 exchange visitors must be full-time through the length of their appointment/program at UMD.
  • Only teaching positions may hold 9-month appointments 

J-1 Exchange Visitor Program Processing Tips

As we begin the new year, we remind you that J-1 activities must be performed at the site of activity. In accordance with Department of State regulations, we must determine that each individual scholar to whom we are issuing new J-1 visa documents will perform a majority or all of their research activities in-person at the site of activity. Telework is limited to 1 - 2 days per week. It is expected that the host faculty member will meet regularly and mentor the scholar as they work towards their goals.

 

  • New  Funding Requirements:  Based on the new Faculty Salary Guidelines, effective 08/1/2022, the minimum funding amount for J-1 exchange visitors increased to $39,831 per year or $3,320 per month. Please use this new minimum funding amount to request new or extension J-1 DS-2019s in iTerp.
  • New  Due to the importance of having the appointment approved before ISSS can begin processing a J-1 visa request, we are updating our iTerp process to include an initial step of appointment approval verification. A new e-form, Request for J-1 Immigration Sponsorship, has been added to the J-1 Initial Request e-form group in iTerp.This form will need to be submitted and approved by ISSS before departments can access the remaining J-1 Initial request e-forms, creating a check for Provost’s approval.  Additionally, to improve efficiency of the entire process, the J-1 visitor will have access to their e-forms once the department has submitted all of their required eforms. To review a workflow of our new process, click here.
  • PHR Start Dates: When possible, we ask that paid J-1 exchange visitors receive PHR start dates on the first of the month in order to simplify the health insurance process for the exchange visitor. COVID-19 has increased the importance of continuous insurance coverage. When the J-1 participant does not have coverage at the start of their position, they must find alternative insurance until they can be added to the State of Maryland's insurance plan. Careful planning at the beginning of the program is important. 
  • Use of Faculty Titles: The J-1 status is limited to temporary position titles, such as postdoctoral associate, faculty assistant, and visiting scientists and visiting professors. J-1 regulations prohibit the use of the visa for tenure-track/tenured/permanent positions. 
  • J-1 Online Check-in: Upon arrival to the U.S., all J-1 scholars will check-in online through iTerp. Login instructions for iTerp are posted on the ISSS website. In some cases, the scholar may require assistance with uploading documents into iTerp. Please note that a digital photo or a scan can be used for uploading documents into iTerp. Information about the online check-in process is sent to J-1 scholars prior to their arrival. 
  • J-1 Orientation: During the spring semester, ISSS will continue to host J-1 orientation every other Thursday, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm., via Zoom.

Departmental Responsibilities when Hosting/Employing a Foreign National

 

  • The University of Maryland, as a sponsor, is responsible for the safety, health and welfare of all of our J-1 exchange visitors. 
  • Faculty hosts are responsible to mentor their exchange visitor (J-1) through the length of the program. If your exchange visitor is faced with an emergency, becomes ill or if the J-1  has not reported to work for three days and the absence is not excused, please notify ISSS. 
  • If there is a change in the site of activity or employment, please notify ISSS so that we may take appropriate action on their immigration status.  This needs to be reported to SEVIS within 10 days of the move.
  • New  When retaining outside immigration counsel on behalf of the department, the Office of International Affairs will receive an invoice from the State of Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General. Under our new process, these invoices will be charged to the department’s KFS number for processing.  Please notify the responsible staff in the department of this activity. 

H-1B, E-3, O-1 and TN Employment Visas 

 

  • We are currently experiencing lengthy processing times of six months at USCIS for the adjudication of H-1B applications when the application is not premium processed. It is important that these applications be given the lead time required to provide the new employee a smooth transition to UMD. 
  • Initial and extension H-1B, E-3, and TN petitions filed with a 3-month lead time for processing will necessitate the need for premium processing. For these last-minute submissions, USCIS charges a premium processing fee of an additional $2,500.00 to expedite each case.  
  • Reminder: The Labor Condition Application, required for H-1B and E-3 cases, is posted electronically through the UHR and ISSS website. Departments no longer need to print and post the LCA on campus. If the LCA includes an off-site location, it will need to be posted at the third-party site. 

Permanent Residency

  • New This past year, ISSS converted all paper-based forms into iTerp e-forms to improve the efficiency and processing of the I-140 permanent residency application.

Training Workshops for Spring and Summer 2023

  • January 30, 2023 at 2:30: H-1B Orientation for all new H-1B visa holders 
  • February 7, 2023 at 9:30 am: Hiring International Faculty - visa options for sponsorship 
  • Date TBD: Non-paid Appointment Workshop

Communicating with a Faculty/Scholar Advisor 

  • Chat online with ISSS for quick inquiries - M-F, 10:30 am-12:30 pm 
  • Our website contains most of the information you need to submit requests to ISSS 
  • Make an appointment with an ISSS advisor
  • 301.405.1617 - a dedicated phone line for faculty/scholar questions
  • Our cases for this winter will be divided as follows: 

Connie Jesse (J-1) Last names K-R

Sue Dougherty (H-1B) Last names K-R
with support from Ash Reynolds
301-405-1617

Yetnayet “Mimi” Lemma
Scholar & Faculty Advisor, Last names S-Z
301-405-7152

Sue Dougherty (H-1B) 

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