Keycon-L Alert for June 14, 2006
Visiting Fellow Manual Chapter
The DIS is happy to announce that the revised Visiting Fellow manual chapter has been published! The revised manual chapter can be found at http://www1.od.nih.gov/oma/manualchapters/person/2300-320-3/.
The revised manual chapter incorporates the manual chapter on Supplemental Visiting Fellows, which is now rescinded.
We ask that you take the time to review the manual chapter and bookmark it for future reference.
Note: Many of the DIS web links are currently unavailable. We have recently migrated our web site to a new URL address. The links in the manual chapter will be updated in the near future.
Travel by Foreign Scientists
With the summer season upon us, we would appreciate if you could remind your NIH-sponsored foreign scientists to check with the DIS two weeks before any travel outside the U.S. (including to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands). We are finding many scientists waiting until the last minute to check their travel documents and coming to the DIS when we do not have open hours.
Travel guidance for NIH-sponsored foreign scientists can be found at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/advisories/trvladvisories.html
Our open hours for travel and other general questions (walk-in advising) can be found at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/resources/06_walkin.html
H-1B Numerical Cap
USCIS announced on June 1 that a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been approved or were in the adjudications pipeline to reach the FY 2007 H-1B cap. The good news is that NIH-sponsored foreign scientists are exempt from this limit! NIH is NOT subject to the cap! The cap primarily impacts private industry, and, therefore, certain NIH contractors.
If you are seeking an H-1B through an NIH contractor, you need to closely work with the contracting employer. There may be some H-1B numbers available if an individual graduated from a U.S. university with a Master’s or higher degree; numbers may also be available for citizens of Singapore and Chile (treaty-based). Again, check with the contracting employer on this availability and alternatives to the H-1B, such as the O-1 Alien of Extraordinary Ability (which is not subject to a cap).
The USCIS cap announcement can be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FY07H1Bcap_060106PR.pdf
Premium Processing
As many of you know, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers expedited processing of certain immigration applications/petitions. The ones most common at the NIH are for H-1B, O-1, or TN petitions.
As a reminder, premium processing involves the payment of an additional $1,000 for a case to be reviewed by the USCIS in 15 calendar days. USCIS recently announced that they are planning to add other petitions for premium processing, such as for certain lawful permanent residence petitions (LPR—aka “green card”). However, this addition is not yet in effect. USCIS will make a formal announcement when they are ready to accept premium processing for those cases. We will notify the IC community when this occurs.
New IC Case Status Web Site
Coming soon! In the next month, DIS anticipates unveiling a new online case status web site for the IC key contacts. This new and improved view will provide more detailed information about the status of the case and case history.
However, as with any new database, there may be some blank fields or missing information, particularly for case histories. We ask for your patience, as these fields will be updated on an on-going basis.
DIS Processing Times
The DIS would like to remind the ICs to check our processing times in order to determine the time it takes the DIS to process a particular case. We often receive case status inquiries BEFORE the case has exceeded our posted processing times. Many times, these inquiries come even before the case arrives at the DIS!
The processing times focus solely on the DIS’s processes; the times begin when a complete request is received at the DIS. Note that the processing times do not provide an over-all lead time, as they do not incorporate time required by other agencies involved in a particular case.
We remind the ICs to always check the status of the case online before contacting the DIS. As noted in item five above, we expect to have a more detailed online case status web site soon. Currently, the Electronic log (e-log) provides basic case status information.
You can find the DIS processing times at: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/advisories/techadvis_no01.html
Sending cases to the DIS
The DIS has found that many individuals brought to the NIH, particularly as Special Volunteers or under a Professional Service Contract (PSC), are not being routed through our office. We would like to remind you that all foreign scientists who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents must be cleared by our office (exception: NIH contractors). Such individuals must possess valid work authorization, as required by Department of Homeland Security (DHS), regardless if paid or unpaid.
In addition to compliance with DHS regulations, knowing the individual’s case history helps us advise the IC properly when a situation arises. It is imperative, therefore, that the ICs provide us complete cases.
For a reminder on what documents to include in a case, use the DIS check-lists, located in our Forms page: http://dis.ors.od.nih.gov/forms/01_forms.html.
Notification of LWOP/AWOS
Please be sure to notify the DIS before you place NIH-sponsored foreign scientists on Leave without Pay (LWOP) or Absence without Stipend (AWOS). There are immigration implications associated with such actions; some which may negatively impact the scientist. Send the DIS a copy of the Scientific Director’s approval for the LWOP/AWOS, along with a description of the purpose of the LWOP/AWOS and the duration.
Team Email Addresses
In order to respond to inquiries in a timely fashion, we ask that you please limit all inquires to the Team e-mail address. We find that individuals often send an email to the Team address, as well as the individual members of the team. Inquiries to the Team are reviewed by a member of the team (i.e. an Immigration Specialist), so there is no need to send the same inquiry to multiple e-mail addresses. Multiple emails will only delay a response. Please allow a reasonable time for review and reply.
Termination Notices
This is a reminder to please send completed termination notices. When completing the notice, please fully complete all items, particularly the last day in pay status, and sign the form. Many notices come to the DIS with fields left blank and/or unsigned. This creates additional work for you as we must then follow-up to obtain the missing items.
