Sponsor an H-1B Exchange Visitor

Human Resources, Office of International Services   |   Approved October 31, 2018

Purpose

File petition to employ a non-U.S. citizen in a specialty occupation.

Applicability

Departments seeking to hire a specialty occupation and sponsor an employee under an H-1B visa. A specialty occupation is one that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of study. The position must require at least a Bachelor’s degree.  

For additional information contact the Office of International Services (OIS).

Instructions

1. Make sure you or someone in your department has access to Sunapsis, the online system for submitting visa sponsorship requests. Learn how to Become a Sunapsis User.
2. Determine employment status:
   1. For individuals already employed and/or appointed in your department, proceed to 4.
   2. For individuals not currently employed by UMB, conduct recruitment as required by university policy and issue an offer letter to the prospective employee.
   3. For new scholar fellow or faculty hires, follow appropriate procedures in your department or school to request an academic appointment.
3. Log into Sunapsis and follow the instructions to Add a New Person.
4. Log into Sunapsis and click on the H-1B Employee Request under Department Services. If you need the Sunapsis/University ID for the employee, contact ois-info@umaryland.edu with the name of the employee. (The Sunapsis/University ID is NOT the employee ID in HRIS).
5. Submit all four required e-forms in the H-1B Employee Request.              
6. Once OIS receives the alert for the complete request, the office will:
   1. Conduct a Prevailing Wage Analysis.
   2. The OIS will draft a Labor Condition Application (LCA) for posting.
   3. The OIS will email the employing department contact with the LCA and instructions to reply via email with the positing start date, end date, and two locations of the postings.
      1. At this point in the process, the department should request the filing fee checks and drop them off at the Office of International Services
7. Upon receipt of a certified LCA from the Department of Labor, the OIS will prepare and file an H-1B petition with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (UCSIS).
8. OIS will send a copy of the UCSIS receipt notice indicating whether employment is authorized.
9. OIS will notify the employee and the department when an approval is received.