Communique – Volume 16, Number 3
April 2020
Greeting from the ISSO!
In this issue:
- ISSO Scholar Services Continues Remotely
- ISSO Processing and Employment Verification During BU Hiring Freeze
- USCIS Suspends Premium Processing Due to COVID-19
- Suspension of Routine Visa Services
ISSO Scholar Services Continues Remotely
The Scholar Services Team remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community during this challenging time and we continue to provide services remotely. International scholars/employees and host departments should continue to contact their primary ISSO scholar advisor. All processing and interactions will occur via e-mail or zoom. More details about our interim plan to support our various communities is available on the ISSO website. We will continue to update this page as necessary.
ISSO Processing and Employment Verification During BU Hiring Freeze
In order to align with Boston University’s freeze on staff hires, the ISSO has been working closely with Human Resources and other relevant offices to insure that we are processing immigration sponsorship requests and employment verifications appropriately. Effective immediately and until further notice, please note the following changes in required documentation for new hires in staff and academic research positions and temporary positions:
- New Requests for Immigration Sponsorship Processing: The ISSO continues to review and process immigration requests for academic research appointments starting July 1, 2020 or later. Host departments must submit the Staff Hiring Freeze Exception Request Form for Regular Staff, Temporary Staff and Postdocs as part of the request process so that we can confirm that the exception to the freeze was approved prior to commencing any immigration processing. Please connect with your department’s finance or HR representative for the form and instructions.
- I-9 Employment Verification Requests: Departments processing new staff hires and temporary hires who do not require formal immigration sponsorship (ie. F-1 OPT, J-2 EAD, pending permanent resident, etc), will need to provide the ISSO with the Staff Hiring Freeze Exception Request Form for Regular Staff, Temporary Staff and Postdocs form in order for us to complete the required I-9 employment verification. Please connect with your department’s finance or HR representative for the form and instructions.
The ISSO will continue to process requests for new faculty as well as extensions for current employees per our standard procedures and no additional documentation will be necessary for requests related to these employees. While uncompensated Visiting Researchers are not subject to the hiring freeze, we ask that schools and departments follow the university academic decisions regarding remote activities and online instruction when establishing future start date for visiting researchers and we will review those requests case by case.
Please contact your ISSO scholar advisor if you have any questions or reach out to your HR business partner for details specific to the hiring freeze.
USCIS Suspends Premium Processing Due to COVID-19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has temporarily suspended their premium processing service for all H-1B petitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we hope this suspension will be for a limited timeframe and that USCIS will resume premium processing shortly, we simply do not know how long this temporary suspension will be in place.
During the suspension, the ISSO can continue to submit H-1B petitions via ‘regular’ processing. Please be assured that USCIS’s standard processing timelines continue to work well for most continuing employees who are already in the H classification. Employees who require a change of status to H-1B or who are outside the U.S. and will need the H approval in order to commence or continue their BU appointment may be affected by the suspension, which may result in hiring delays or gaps in employment eligibility. Please consult with your ISSO advisor to discuss how this suspension my impact any H-1B sponsorship requests that you have pending or will be submitting.
Suspension of Routine Visa Services
The Department of State (DOS) has suspended all routine visa services due to COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Embassies and Consulates have cancelled all immigrant and non-immigrant visa interview appointments. Therefore, new and continuing scholars who require a new visa or visa renewal to enter the U.S. may experience delays in obtaining this important documentation. The Department of State has indicated that visa applicants with an urgent matter who need to travel immediately should follow the instructions on the their Embassy’s website to request an emergency appointment. At this time, only medical personnel, especially those who are working to treat or mitigate the effects of COVID-19 will be considered urgent. Please contact your ISSO scholar advisor if you have any questions related to visa processing.