Keycon-L Alert for January 24, 2008
DIS Annual Immigration Conference
Save the date! The DIS will host our annual Immigration Conference over 2 days on May 20-21. Registration and conference details will be forthcoming. Stay tuned!
Income Tax Workshops
The DIS is pleased to offer Tax Preparation Workshops for NIH-sponsored foreign researchers. The purpose of the workshops is to assist foreign researchers in the NIH Visiting Program in completing their federal and state income tax returns for tax year 2007.
The full details of the workshops can be found at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/advisories/05_workshops.html
Please share this schedule with the NIH-sponsored foreign researchers in your labs/branches. Seating for all the income tax workshops is on a first come /first serve basis. Once the seating capacity is met for each session, no more attendees will be permitted in the room (per the Fire Marshall).
Sending Requests to DIS
In order for the NIH to host or employ foreign researchers, the IC must send a request or case to the DIS. Any foreign researcher that is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident must be cleared by the DIS.* This remains the case whether:
- the NIH sponsors the individual’s immigration status; OR
- the individual is sponsored by another organization (e.g. F-1 students); OR
- the individual possess his/her own work authorization (e.g. Employment Authorization Document).
The DIS is required to ensure that these individuals are lawful in the U.S. AND lawful to work at the NIH—regardless if such individuals are paid or not paid by the NIH.
We also ask the ICs to ensure that all requests submitted to the DIS—whether for a new case or renewal—are completed as accurately as possible. The information on these forms is entered onto the researcher’s immigration documents and, therefore, must be precise. We ask that you verify the information on the request forms before submission to the DIS.
*An exception to this is for those brought on as NIH contract workers, since NIH is not the sponsoring host or employer in those cases. For those brought on for a short time (less than two weeks), please consult with your DIS Team if a case is necessary.
EOD Dates for FTEs
The NIH Office of Human Resources (OHR) encourages EOD dates for FTE appointments to coincide with the start of a pay period. The OHR has noted that problems can arise in processing appointments after a pay period has started, particularly if the EOD date is within the last few days of the pay period.
Therefore, we ask the ICs to check their payroll calendars in determining EOD dates. If the researcher is already in the U.S. and changing designation (e.g. Visiting Fellow to FTE), it is not always necessary that the FTE must begin when the fellowship ends. The FTE can begin earlier. For example, if the researcher’s J-1 status and fellowship ends 2/11/2008 (which falls in the middle of the pay period), the EOD date for the FTE and H-1B worker status can be 2/3/2008, which is the beginning of the pay period. The EOD date does not have to be 2/12/2008, which is the date after the J-1 and fellowship expire. There is no immigration requirement that the H-1B status can only begin after the J-1 status expires.
The DIS will make every attempt to EOD researchers at the start of a pay period; however, immigration rules and regulations may not always permit us to do so, especially with USCIS/DHS delays in processing petitions. However, we encourage ICs to submit cases timely to us in order to meet this goal.
Appointment Start Date Confirmation form
The DIS reminds the ICs to accurately complete and sign the “Appointment Start Date Confirmation” form for newly arrived foreign researchers. This form must be presented by the researcher to the DIS in order to activate her/his award/ appointment/ assignment at the NIH. The form and information on this service can be found at http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/resources/04_checkin.html
The DIS has noticed that many times, the IC lists a start date which has already passed or neglects to sign the form. Please notify all applicable parties at your IC to carefully complete the form. The DIS will accept a signed form from the IC lab sponsor, Administrative Key Contact, or designee. Your IC should determine who has signature authority for this form.
The DIS will make every attempt to honor a requested start date; however, final determination is made by the DIS, according to applicable immigration rules and regulations.
IC Transfers/Details
The DIS would like to issue a friendly reminder that ICs must report to us any lab transfers—whether the individual is remaining within your IC or moving to a new one. We also need to know if researchers are temporarily detailed to another location (whether within or outside your IC). Such lab transfers and details must be approved IN ADVANCE. Immigration regulations require such changes be updated before they occur. Thus, it is important that the appropriate paperwork be sent to us in a timely manner in accordance with our processing times.
The paperwork requirements are listed on our checklists, which can be found at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/forms/01_forms.html
Information on DIS processing times is located at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/advisories/techadvis_no01.html
Promotions/Changes in Designations
As with IC transfers and details, the DIS must also approve changes in designation IN ADVANCE, e.g. Visiting Fellow to Research Fellow (VP); Research Fellow (VP) to Staff Scientist (VP); Pre-doctoral Visiting Fellow to Post-doctoral Visiting Fellow; etc. This is also an immigration requirement, as we must notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the appropriate channels.
The paperwork requirements are listed on our checklists, which can be found at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/forms/01_forms.html.
Termination Notices
Please remember to send completed and signed termination notices to the DIS. As with items 6 and 7 above, we must notify the DHS of the researcher’s last day at the NIH. Sending an unsigned notice may lead us to inadvertently end a researcher’s lawful stay in the U.S.
The DIS requires a term notice even in the situation when a researcher receives U.S. permanent residence (“green card”) and is converting from the Visiting Program (VP) to the domestic program. This is particularly important in the case of FTE appointments. The DIS wants to be certain that the individual’s appointment is converted properly before we formally close our file on the researcher.
NIH Visiting Fellows Committee
The NIH Visiting Fellows Committee (NIHVFC) provides a network of support for Visiting Fellows at the NIH. One of their goals is to help facilitate the return of fellows to their respective home countries (or country of interest). To assist with this goal, the NIHVFC launched “Science Voices from Home.” This program fosters informal meetings with visiting researchers (e.g. those giving a seminar) with fellows from the same country to learn about scientific opportunities back home.
The NIHVFC would appreciate if you could share information about this program with the researchers in your labs/branches, particularly those researchers visiting for a short period that would be willing to spend some time with fellows from the same country.
Information on this program is attached and can also be located at http://felcom.od.nih.gov/subCommittee/vfc/scienceVoices.aspx
