ISSO Scholar Services Communique – Volume 13, Number 2

April 27, 2017

Happy Spring from the ISSO!

In this issue:

H-1B Premium Processing Temporarily Suspended

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has temporarily suspended their premium processing service for all H-1B petitions. 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 and new employees, particularly those that are already in the H classification. Employees who require a change of status to H-1B from another non-immigrant classification 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. USCIS has indicated that the main purpose of the suspension, which may last for up to six months (until early October), is to clear the back-log in regular processing. The ISSO is reviewing each H-1B sponsorship request carefully and is following up with host departments and employees that may be affected by the premium processing suspension to outline potential outcomes and determine whether or not there are other sponsorship options.

Processing timelines at the ISSO

While we routinely request advance notice from departments hiring international researchers or faculty, it is even more crucial at this busy time of year. Fortunately, thanks to your efforts, many sponsorship requests for summer and fall hires are already in process at the ISSO.

For new J-1 sponsorship requests, we recommend that the host department submit the completed processing request packet to the ISSO at least 60 days prior to the desired start date. While we do accept requests with less than 60 days notice, we cannot move forward with requests with less than 30 days advance notice since this will not provide enough time for the new scholar to arrive at BU on-time. The ISSO issues the DS-2019 within 10 business days and the documents must then be mailed to the scholar. Upon receipt of the documentation, the scholar will schedule a visa interview and travel to the U.S. Consulate for the required in-person interview. Visa applications can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to process and we typically expect longer processing times during this busy season. Once the visa is issued, the scholar can make plans to travel to the U.S. Thus, while we can issue the required document fairly quickly, there are steps that must happen before the scholar can come to BU. In circumstances where there is not enough lead time provided, we will recommend that the department amend the processing request dates before we move forward with ISSO processing.

For H-1B sponsorship requests, we recommend that departments submit the sponsorship request packet six months in advance of the desired start date. The H-1B application requires between four to eight weeks of preliminary processing at the Department of Labor before the ISSO can submit the final petition to USCIS. While we remain hopeful that USCIS standard processing times will improve and that the premium processing service will be available again in the fall, it is best to commence processing as far in advance as possible.

Lastly, please remember to follow the normal hiring procedures for your college and for the type of position requested, as the ISSO cannot process any visa paperwork until all standard hiring steps have been completed. Please contact your scholar advisor if you have any questions.

Upcoming training session for administrators

We are pleased to announce an upcoming training for BU administrators. Whether you are new to BU, new to working with the ISSO, or a seasoned administrator who just wants a refresher, you are welcome to attend.

Thursday May 4
2:00 p.m.
ISSO – 888 Commonwealth Ave, 2nd Floor

Please confirm your attendance by creating a reservation at: http://www.supersaas.com/schedule/buisso/Administrator_Training

Please also note that the ISSO is always willing to work with departments to schedule more individualized trainings based on the departmental need. Please feel free to contact Sharon Ralston, Assistant Director for Scholar Services, should you like to discuss this further.

Walk-in Services and New J-1 Scholar Check-in and Orientation at BUMC on May 11 will be cancelled

The ISSO Walk-in hours for scholars and administrators and the New J-1 Scholar Check-in and Orientation that is normally scheduled at BUMC-HR will not be held on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Please consult our Scholar Services weekly calendar and advise your international scholars to adjust their schedule if they need to see us that week. We hope that by providing this advance notice, it will minimize any inconvenience to our clients and we appreciate your understanding. We will resume our regular schedule the following week. Please contact your scholar advisor if you have any questions.

ISSO Staffing Update

Tunde Kiss, the International Scholar Advisor who works with faculty and research appointments for many BU schools on the Charles River Campus will be out of the office until June 1, 2017. Sharon Ralston will be the contact for Tunde’s assigned departments during this time so please feel free to contact her directly.

Executive Order Updates

“Buy American and Hire American”

On April 18, President Trump signed a new Executive Order entitled “Buy American and Hire American.” The EO directs the various government agencies to review the current laws governing the H-1B program and suggest changes to prioritize the most skilled and highest paid positions. In addition, the President directed Federal agencies to review all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa programs and propose new rules and guidance eliminate fraud and abuse in order to protect U.S. workers. This order does not have an immediate impact on the H-1B program and many of the contemplated changes would require Congressional or regulatory action.

Executive Orders 13780 – Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States

The Executive Order remains under nationwide preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order.  However, there are sections of the EO that are not enjoined by the court orders and are in effect. Please be reminded that the Executive Order eliminates mail-in procedures for ALL visa applications and renewals, thus requiring all nonimmigrants (regardless of country of citizenship) to schedule an in-person appointment at a U.S. consulate or embassy. We expect that this change will cause visa issuance delays during peak travel seasons so if you have any scholars who will be traveling, please remind them to contact their ISSO Scholar Advisor to discuss their travel plans. In addition, we recommend that you check our website regularly for any updates.

We appreciate your understanding and continued support of the ISSO.