Communiqué, Volume 20, Number 2

March 2024

Greetings from the ISSO!

In this issue:

Upcoming Administrator Trainings

As part of our continued efforts to partner with academic departments across all three BU campuses, we are pleased to announce upcoming virtual training and Q&A sessions for our designated department administrative contacts.

Immigration Processing Basics
Thursday April 11 @ 10 a.m.

Outlines the key ISSO services, explains how to determine whether immigration processing will be necessary for your scholar, and goes over the process of submitting immigration processing requests to the ISSO. Register here

J-1 Classification Overview
Tuesday June 4 @ 2:30 p.m.
Focuses on the J-1 category, outlines the J-1 process from inviting a foreign scholar to their arrival, ISSO check-in and orientation and continued compliance throughout the BU appointment. Register here

These sessions are designed to complement and build upon the information provided in our on-line training video series. More sessions will be announced in the coming months. In addition, we are happy to customize a session to meet your departmental needs. If that is the case, please contact your Scholar Advisor to discuss in more detail.

Considerations for Hiring Upcoming Graduates

Graduates from degree programs in the U.S. may be eligible to apply for work authorization to allow them to remain in the U.S. and gain practical experience in their area of study.  The most common work authorization used by graduates is known as Optional Practical Training (OPT) and can be approved for up to 12 months of authorization initially. The processing time can vary but typically takes about 3-4 months. Thus, if you are in discussions with soon to be graduates who you want to hire in the summer/fall, please remind them to apply for their OPT right away so that their employment in your department can commence as planned.

In addition, if you plan to transition a BU graduate from student employee be prepared for a potential gap between the end of the student employment eligibility and the start of the new position in your department. Hiring departments should follow the guidelines and deadlines set out by the Student Employment Office to determine when a BU graduate must stop working. In order for any recent graduate to commence (non-student) employment after completing their degree program all the following must occur:

  1. The graduate MUST obtain the appropriate post-completion employment authorization (usually F-1 Optional Practical Training – OPT) and
  2. The position that you plan to hire the graduate into MUST be related to the program of study

Please refer any BU graduates to the OPT information on our website. Graduates from other schools should connect with their international office for details on how to apply. Lastly, hiring departments contact ISSO Scholar Services and review our OPT/STEM OPT Overview video for more information.

Confirmation of End of Employment/Activity

Insuring that our foreign national employees and scholars are maintaining their immigration status is a shared responsibility between the employee/scholar, the host department and the ISSO. Given that host departments oversee the day-to-day work of foreign national employees, we rely on them to provide details and advance notice pertaining to the completion or termination of employment or academic appointment for all international scholars and employees.

The ISSO must properly report and close any related ISSO records as well as any related immigration sponsorship items in accordance with federal regulations so timely notifications are critical. In addition, the ISSO will provide additional immigration classification specific guidance to the departing scholar should that be required. When possible, please notify the ISSO of any resignations or terminations at least 30 days prior to the expected end of employment or academic appointment by sending us the completed End of Employment/Activity Notification Form.

Please note the following immigration specific information:

J-1 Exchange Visitors: The ISSO must report completions of the J program via the SEVIS system. If one of your J scholars is departing prior to the initially requested appointment end date we will amend the SEVIS record and issue a new Form DS-2019 to reflect the new program completion date. This documentation is useful for departing scholars, particularly if they have plans to return to the U.S. in the near future.

H-1B Employees: When an employee sponsored in the H-1B classification leaves their employment prior to the initially determined end date, the ISSO must withdraw the USCIS approved petition as well as the associated Labor Condition Application (LCA). In addition, please be reminded that when the host department dismisses an H-1B employee prior to the end of the authorized period of employment, the host department is liable for the reasonable costs of return transportation to the employee’s country of last residence abroad, if applicable.

OPT STEM Employees: BU is responsible for notifying the employee’s sponsoring institution (school from which the employee graduated) within 48 hours of the end of employment at BU. The ISSO makes this notification on behalf of the University but we need timely information from the hiring department to insure compliance with this requirement.

The monthly reminders that the ISSO provides are based on the dates of the initial sponsorship or appointment requests. Thus, should the end of the appointment change or occur outside of our standard reminder cycle, please be sure to notify us so that we can appropriate action to insure institutional compliance.

The Scholar Services Team remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community and appreciates your continued support!