Immigration FAQs

The Office of Visa & Immigration Services & Advisors (VISA) facilitates and processes all nonimmigrant petition requests for the university. The position requirements and an individual’s previous experience and qualifications will determine the appropriate visa category. Most commonly our office requests H-1B, J-1, O-1, and TN visa status on behalf of CWRU employees requiring work visa sponsorship.

Your spouse and minor children may be eligible for dependent visa status to accompany you; however, you are responsible for preparing the application and maintaining your dependents' status. The VISA Office can assist in a limited capacity.

Please contact the VISA Office at visa@case.edu or 216.368.6964 to determine the appropriate nonimmigrant status for the potential hire and the appropriate application procedures. 

Your direct supervisor and your department will determine the appropriateness of sponsorship, in consultation with the VISA Office. For additional information, please visit https://case.edu/visa/international-faculty-staff-scholars/lawful-permanent-resident-lpr-green-card. For questions or concerns regarding the timeline and/or process of sponsorship for permanent residence at CWRU, please contact the VISA Office at visa@case.edu or 216.368.6964.

Please contact the VISA Office at visa@case.edu to arrange an appointment to discuss your potential tax-treaty benefits.

If you are having an immigration-related emergency during normal business hours (Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, except holidays), please contact the VISA Office at 216.368.6964. If an emergency immigration-related issue arises outside of normal business hours, please contact CWRU Public Safety at 216.368.3333. They will help you get in touch with a member of the VISA Team.

Your Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) and travel history can be accessed through the CBP website. Please be sure to download your Form I-94 as soon as possible after every entry to the United States, and review it to confirm it lists the correct visa status and expiration date. Please note: The expiration date listed on your Form I-94 is your last date of authorized stay in the United States. You are responsible for ensuring your Form I-94 is accurate. If you identify an error on your Form I-94, please contact the VISA Office immediately for guidance on how to correct it.

Every nonimmigrant in the United States must notify USCIS of any change of address within 10 days of the change by completing Form AR-11 by mail or online. The form can be found at the following link: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange. Be sure to forward a copy of the address change to the VISA Office at visa@case.edu. In addition, please login to HCM to update your address in the university records.

Individuals with pending matters at USCIS can check the status of their case online at https://www.uscis.gov/ using your USCIS receipt number. Please contact the VISA Office if you do not have a copy of your receipt notice. 

The Department of State releases a Visa Bulletin each month which provides information on priority dates. Visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html for the current and upcoming Visa Bulletins, as well as additional information on how the visa availability process works. 

This category is for a foreign national who enters the United States for the primary purpose of conducting research, observing or consulting in connection with research projects at research institutions, corporate research facilities, museums, libraries, post-secondary accredited academic institutions or similar types of institutions. A research scholar may also teach or lecture unless disallowed by the sponsor.

The research scholar or professor’s appointment to a position shall be temporary, even if the position itself is permanent. Incidental lectures or short-term consultations are permitted with the approval of the responsible officer so long as they are directly related to the objectives of the participant's program, and do not delay the exchange program’s completion date.

The J-1 program is designed to allow the exchange visitor an enriching cross-cultural opportunity to gain mutual understanding of diverse backgrounds and customs. They will learn new skills and techniques that can be taken back to their home country to enhance the country’s growth and development.

There are many significant differences between H-1B status and the J-1 status for researchers, including professors. The most appropriate status will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please find a general overview of the major differences between H-1B and J-1 in Visa Information.

No. The U.S. State Department does not have a system to speed up the J-1 process. A visa application at a U.S. consulate typically takes a month or so to process. If you are changing status to J-1 within the United States on Form I-539, please visit https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ for current processing times. 

It is the responsibility of the department to request an extension to an individual's J-1 program. The VISA Office asks that all paperwork is in our office no later than three weeks before the end of the appointment. To request an extension, please visit our scholar portal or email visa@case.edu. 

PLEASE NOTE: Individuals in J-1 status seeking a waiver of the two year home residence requirement (INA 212(e)) must contact our office in advance of filing a waiver request, as J-1 status cannot be extended once a waiver is recommended by the State Department.

No. The J-1 visa stamp is in the passport is needed only to enter the US. The DS- 2019 an individual carries is the legal document that allows them to stay in the U.S. If the exchange visitor plans on travelling internationally for conferences, then they will need to obtain a new visa stamp at a U.S. consular post before re-entering the United States. 

The J-1 process involves a number of steps. A faculty member needs to bring the request to the department assistant, who will complete the necessary forms and obtain all required approvals, and submit a request to the VISA Office through our scholar portal. We will review the request and reach out for additional information from the department and the scholar. Upon receipt of all required documentation, we will issue a Form DS-2019 to the scholar. The scholar will be notified via email to access the portal and print the form.

If the scholar is outside the US, a visa stamp is usually required to enter the US. The scholar should visit https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ to determine appropriate visa application procedures for the consular post at which they will apply.

We do not recommend making travel arrangements until the visa stamp has been issued.  Processing times may vary due to appointment wait times and any administrative and/or security processing required by the consulate.

A J-1 visa holder can bring their dependent spouse and/or children (under age 21) on J-2 visas. For each individual, the VISA Office will need the following information: Family Name, Given Name, Date of Birth, City of Birth, Country of Birth, Citizenship, and Country of Residence. It will take a few days to process the Form DS-2019 required for each dependent to obtain a J-2 visa stamp at a U.S. consular post.

The VISA Office cannot provide an exact time frame, as processing times vary depending on type of application and which office is adjudicating the petition. USCIS guarantees a response in 15 business days for petitions which are filed with premium processing; petitions filed with standard processing may take six months or longer. Visit https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ for current processing times. 

The base filing fee is $460. First-time applications also require a $500 fraud detection fee. $460 is required for extensions. The department is responsible for paying the $460 and $500 fees.

Premium processing of the petition may be requested for an additional $2,805 fee, which may be paid either by the department or the beneficiary. 

Fees may change without notice. Please visit https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees for current fees, or contact the VISA Office. 

Extensions of H-1B visa status may filed no earlier than 6 months before the expiration date. The employee’s department should contact the VISA Office to initiate an H-1B extension.

Extension requests must be submitted to the VISA Office no later than three months before the expiration date. As long as the H-1B petition is submitted to USCIS before the expiration date, the employee may continue to live and work in the US for up to 240 days, but may not travel abroad after the current expiration date until the new petition is approved. 

Generally speaking, H-1Bs are permitted a maximum stay of six years in the U.S. Initial appointments may not exceed three years; a minimum stay at Case Western Reserve University is one year, although requests for three years are highly encouraged.

In certain circumstances an H-1B may be extended past the sixth year. Please contact the VISA Office Director for additional information. 

Family members of H-1B visa holders may apply for H-4 visa status, which allows them to live in the U.S. with their H-1B spouse or parent. H-4 visa holders are generally not permitted to work in the U.S. If an H-1B visa holder has an approved immigrant petition on Form I-140, their H-4 spouse may apply for employment authorization. 

The employee should obtain a currently dated employment verification letter from Records. They may take the employment verification letter and the H-1B receipt notice to the nearest BMV to renew their driver's license.

O-1 visa status is for individuals who demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim for extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.

TN visas are available only to citizens of Canada or Mexico pursuant to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) (formerly known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)). TN status is limited to occupations listed in Appendix 1603.D.1. of the USMCA.

Please visit the Permanent Residence page on our website for additional information and the initiation form. 

An individual may use their own attorney when pursuing a self-filed petition such as an EB-1A  (Extraordinary Ability) petition or an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition; however, any petition filed by Case Western Reserve University on behalf of an employee must be prepared and filed by approved outside counsel and should only be signed by the VISA Office.

The process will vary for each individual depending on the permanent residence avenue that is selected.

Please visit our F-1 Student Employment webpage for additional information. 

If an employee is eligible for a STEM extension of their OPT, they must contact the international students office at the institution where they received their degree.