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| About SISS | Visas & Immigration | For Scholars | For Students | For UCD Departments | For Families | ||
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SISS Homepage for UCD Departments
Reporting to both University Outreach & International Programs and Student Affairs, we provide a range of services to departments and scholars.
SISS recommends that all departments include the following preparation and processing times into their plans to bring international scholars to campus. These processing times include preparation time at SISS, document processing at U.S. immigration offices, and/or processing times at U.S. embassies abroad. Visa processing times can be significantly extended if an applicant must undergo an interagency security check. These security checks have been averaging 67 days, with longer periods for Chinese, Indian and Russian citizens. The State Department has not set specific criteria or time frames for how long the visa process should take.
The California Service Center processes most of the immigration applications and petitions for UC Davis scholars. All applications and petitions are processed in the order in which they are received. The following USCIS web site tells which cases the Service Centers are processing as of the date indicated.
PLEASE NOTE: Seeking legal permanent residence through a special handling labor certification is time-sensitive. An application for special handling may only be filed within 18 months of the final decision to hire, following a competitive recruitment process.
The Department of State is now providing consular post processing times on-line to assist visa applicants plan for visa processing delays abroad. The Department of State website provides visa applicants with an average wait time to obtain a visa interview (which is now required for all H, O, J, F applicants) and the average wait time for a nonimmigrant visa to be processed at individual consular posts. These are estimates only and government processing times are always subject to change. Planning ahead and applying as early as possible is always recommended. In addition to checking processing times, all visa applicants should thoroughly review the visa instructions and procedures at the specific post where he or she will be applying. ***AS ALWAYS, WE RECOMMEND THAT SCHOLARS CONTACT SISS PRIOR TO ANY INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL.***
B-1 Visitor for Business
H-1B Professional Worker.
The H-1B visa
classification is for full-time teaching and/or research appointments for
the duration of a period of proposed employment for which secure funding is
available. E-3 Professional Worker for Australians. The E-3 classification allows Australian nationals to temporarily work in the U.S. in a “specialty occupation” under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement. Please contact Gayle Oberlies for further information. All E-3 petitons must be processed through SISS.
J-1 Exchange Visitor J-1 status is
used for professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, and
specialists for temporary participation in approved programs of teaching,
research, observation, and consultation.
The two most common types of J-1 visitors to UCD are research scholars and
professors. Postdocs, lecturers, visiting
scientists, and visiting researchers are all eligible to apply for a J-1
visa.
O-1 Extraordinary Ability. The
O-1 classification applies to an individual who has extraordinary ability in
the sciences, education, or business; who has "risen to the top of his or her
field," which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international
acclaim; and who is coming to the U.S. to work in the area of extraordinary
ability.
UC Davis uses this category only when another visa category is not
available.
PR (Permanent Resident).
Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) is
the UC Davis department that represents the University in petitions for Permanent
Residence. Generally, permanent residence petitions are only supported
for full-time faculty and academic researchers. PLEASE NOTE: As certain avenues for legal permanent residence are only available within 18 months of final decision to hire by the university, it is advisable to contact SISS about Permanent Residency options immediately after hiring a foreign national scholar or academic researcher.
TN Professional Workers for Canadians and Mexican.
Qualified Canadian and
Mexican citizens may seek temporary admission to the U.S. under the
provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement to engage in
activities at a professional level in one of the professions or occupations
listed in the NAFTA treaty.
Becoming a U.S. citizen. The process of becoming a U.S.
citizen is not handled by SISS. The USCIS web site contains the
necessary information and forms for this process. Additional
information should be sought from a qualified attorney.
Travel Outside the United States
Travel outside the U.S. can have serious consequences for scholars,
especially if they are in the process of changing or extending their
immigration status at the same time. Please ask all scholars to
consult SISS when making travel plans. Travel Delays: Scholars
traveling outside of the U.S. should be aware of possible delays in
reentering the United States. National security concerns have
occasionally led to long delays in returning to the U.S. for some
scholars doing research in sensitive areas. See Technology
Alert List with instructions for U.S. embassies and consulates If you are your department's regular contact person working with SISS
staff, you should be on our VISA listserv. For more information
please contact us at
siss@ucdavis.edu. |
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