Communique – Volume 16, Number 4

June 2020, part 1

Greeting from the ISSO!

In this issue:

Scholar Services Remote Processing Reminders

The Scholar Services Team remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community during this challenging time. International scholars / employees and host departments should continue to contact their ISSO scholar advisor. All processing and interactions will occur via e-mail, telephone or Zoom.

Departments requesting immigration sponsorship in any classification should expect increased processing times given the complications with remote work in a very paper-based environment.  Requests submitted with insufficient lead time may result in delays to the requested start date and/or gaps in employment eligibility.

More details about how we are supporting BU’s various international communities is available on the ISSO website. We will continue to update this page as necessary.

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Service

Effective June 15, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has resumed premium processing services. While standard processing is sufficient for 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. may require premium processing in order to obtain an approval to enable them to continue or commence their employment.

In order to support Boston University’s phased return to on-campus activity, departments have two options for requesting premium processing checks from Accounts Payable and arranging for delivery to the ISSO. Departments should review the options and discuss any cases that may require premium processing with the ISSO. It may take take 2-3 weeks for checks to be issued and disseminated to the appropriate scholar team member so please plan your request accordingly. Details and further instructions related to premium processing fee requests to Accounts Payable can be found on our premium processing information page.

Presidential Proclamation Bans Entry for Certain Chinese Researchers

A recent Presidential Proclamation may impact the visa eligibility of a few of our international scholars. President Trump issued a presidential proclamation that suspends entry to the US of, or visa issuance to, F and J graduate students and researchers from China who have a current or previous connection—through funding, employment, study, or research—to a Chinese entity associated with China’s “military-civil fusion strategy.”

The ISSO has already contacted research scholars in J-1 status and those holding an F-1 Optional Practical Training authorization from China to alert them of the news but we expect it will not impact most the Chinese scholar community conducting research in fields unrelated to military-civil fusion strategy or technology. Unfortunately, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of State have not published a list of entities so unfortunately we will not be able to offer guidance or make any assessment related to visa eligibility.

We urge you to read the summary and link to the proclamation in the news section of the ISSO website as well as an explanation of how it may impact different members of our Chinese scholar community.

We will continue to monitor this situation and update our web resources as appropriate

Continued Suspension of Routine Visa Services

The Department of State (DOS) continues to suspend 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.

Thank you for your continued support of the ISSO during this unprecedented time!