Sponsorship Guidelines & Roles

The ISSO provides support to foreign nationals and their hosting departments from the initial hiring/sponsorship process to onboarding and throughout the course of the employment/appointment at BU. Host departments, the scholar/employee, and the ISSO all play different roles in supporting foreign nationals at BU.

  • Hiring/Host Department: Provide mentorship and logistical support. Share accurate, timely appointment details with ISSO, and consult with ISSO before any changes.
  • Scholar/Employee: Maintain lawful status while at BU. Provide documents to ISSO, and consult the ISSO before any changes to your work, status, or personal information.
  • ISSO: Supports research, teaching, and employment by managing visa sponsorship, onboarding, updates, reminders, and immigration guidance.

There are a variety of immigration classifications to support academic research, teaching, and other employment at BU. While most individuals will require ISSO support to provide sponsorship, not everyone will require BU sponsorship to engage in their teaching, research or other employment at BU.

Sponsorship Guidelines

BU policy generally limits immigration sponsorship to Boston-based academic research and teaching positions.  You will need to follow school-specific HR processes to confer these appointments.

Most administrative and support staff positions do not meet minimum eligibility requirements for immigration sponsorship. On occasion, some professional staff positions in specialized fields may meet minimum federal requirements and thus warrant consideration for institutional sponsorship. Departments wishing to hire an international employee for a staff position should discuss this with the ISSO in advance of hiring. If the position and the candidate appear to qualify for immigration sponsorship, approval from the Office of the Provost may also be required.

Temporary staff positions are not eligible for immigration sponsorship.

All requests for immigration sponsorship must be processed through the ISSO. We are authorized to sign the legal documents and forms required to sponsor international scholars on behalf of BU and we process most nonimmigrant based paperwork/petitions in-house. Therefore, neither prospective employees nor host departments are authorized to retain outside immigration counsel to represent the international employment needs of BU. If you receive any forms requiring an authorized signature, please forward them to the ISSO.

When determining the most appropriate immigration sponsorship category, the ISSO evaluates the needs of the host department and the principal objective of the prospective scholar in the U.S. (teaching, research, employment, etc). While we will take any employee and department preferences into consideration, ultimately, the ISSO will make the final determination on how and when to proceed with sponsorship.

Sponsorship Process Overview

Once you have identified a foreign national that you would like to bring to campus please follow these steps:

  1. Follow standard University procedures to invite, hire, or appoint foreign national.
  2. Make sure you have a BUID, either through SAP, because they had one previously, or through the BU affiliate account process
  3. Complete department documents required for immigration processing and gather required documents from prospective scholar/employee
  4. Submit completed immigration processing request to the ISSO via secure email
  5. ISSO will confirm receipt within 10 business days to request clarification and/or additional documentation as needed and provide details about next steps
  6. Different classifications require different steps – ISSO will continue to guide the department and scholar through the process
  7. If prospective scholar/employee is outside the U.S. the ISSO will send documentation, once obtained, to allow for the U.S. visa application;
  8. Scholar/employee applies for U.S. entry visa & travels to the U.S.
  9. Upon arrival, follow standard onboarding procedures and obtain ISSO Clearance

Flexible Work Procedures for Foreign Nationals

BU guidelines for flexible work outline options for work arrangements that may be available for eligible employees within our residential university environment.