NIE - H1-B Employment

For information on employment of foreign nationals holding H, O, TN and other visa types contact

Sue Ann Balch, J.D.
Assistant Director Immigration Compliance
Office of International Education
201 Hargis Hall, email: balchsa@auburn.edu, fax 334-844-4983

Auburn University policy currently provides for the following support from the office indicated:

Prevailing Wage Determination - provided by the Office of International Education
Labor Department Certification
H-1B application - Attorney of choice or by the candidate, all signatures done by the Office of International Education and copies of applications must be on file in the Office of International Education with review by the AU immigration attorney.

Recommended procedure

When a conditional letter of offer is made following receiving the prevailing wage determinations and the HR/Provost Office approval to make an offer, OIE requires that a letter of understanding regarding the legal fees and petition process be provided by the hiring unit and signed by the future employee. A recommended letter can be found at this link.

The Office of International Education recommends that all H-1B applicants review the following documentation and contact Sue Ann Balch for a review of the appropriate petition process. Due to the ongoing review OIE cannot guarantee full support for the H-1b application beyond the provision of prevailing wage information, processing an LCA, review of documents and providing the required signatures. For H-1b or employment based petitions OIE cannot provide assistance should the applicant encounter difficulties with the application if the petitions are NOT filed through the services of our attorney and/or OIE. OIE highly recommends that petitioners consider the use of an immigration attorney for the preparation and review of all associated petition documents. Fees charged by the attorneys are the responsibility of the applicant and/or departments.

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Estimated Timelines

Prevailing Wage determination - at least 10 business days. (Alabama Dept of Labor (US DOL "Safe Harbor") processing times varies see notes below)
I 129 completion - depends who is completing it - at least 30 business days
H-1b - standard processing I-129 processing once submitted (as of 2008) to the California Service Center - over 120 working days (based on outside sources)
H-1b - $1,000.00 premium processing fee - time estimated - 21 calendar days from receiving payment (based on USCIS information) USCIS must provide a response (may be denial, approval or request for added information)
Estimated total processing time 6 months for standard / 2 months premium.
If the future foreign national employee is out of the country and will need to apply for the visa then add approximately 2 months to the process once the H-1b approval notice is received by Auburn. The entire petition packet and approval notice must be mailed to the individual who then takes it the the US consulate. If the individual is in the US then they may initiate employment as soon as the appropriate change of status, approvals, etc.. are processed.
TRANSFERS - If a future employee already has an H-1b they must complete and submit a full H-1b petition to the USCIS. Once a receipt notice is received from the USCIS indicating they have the petition on file the individual may begin employment for up to 240 days at Auburn (assuming the previous status was being maintained). Estimated timeline similar to that indicated above. ALL TRANSFER MUST MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT WITH THEIR CURRENT EMPLOYER until AU receives notice of receipt by the USCIS of the AU sponsored I-129. TRANSFERS MAY NOT BEGIN EMPLOYMENT AT AU UNTIL SUCH RECEIPT NOTICE IS RECEIVED.

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Legal Services and Use of Outside Attorneys other than the one indicated above

Auburn University uses the services of Fisher & Phillips LLP, 945 East Paces Ferry Road, Suite 1500 Resurgens Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, (404) 240-4249 (fax) (404) 231-1400 (switchboard) http://pview.findlaw.com/cmd/view?wld_id=1287847&pid=1 . Use of these services requires a guarantee of payment. Should OIE contact Fisher & Phillips on behalf of any individual or department such individuals and departments will be responsible for all fees incurred. Anyone wishing to use outside legal counsel may do so however AU reserves the right to review all AU employer based applications for employment or permanent residency. For more information on the use of outside attorneys and AU legal support services please select this link.

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Information needed for Prevailing Wage Determination

A prevailing wage should be determined as soon as the job ad has run and the department has received any foreign national applicants. The prevailing wage can be run for a particular individual or for an unknown candidate.

Standard prevailing wage requests are done through the Alabama State Employment Service - Foreign Labor Certification Unit - no charges for service – (US Dept of Labor “safe harbor.)

Processing time will vary based on the specifics of the PW request, agencies involved and time of year. Allow for at least a minimum processing time 7-14 business days ( The Alabama Department of Labor processing/response times have varied between a few days up to 3 months due to staffing changes . As of April 2007 they have responded within a one week timeline due to enhanced staffing, allow additional time (24-48 hrs) for OIE to review the request and responses received.)

NOTE2: The form must be complete and accompanied by all relevant attachments otherwise the PW request cannot be processed.

Please remember to fill in the blanks with the minimum requirements for the job and not the qualifications of a particular individual.

Prevailing Wage, Legal Fees and Salary considerations. REVIEW PAGE 1 of the prevailing wage request form as payment of legal and application fees is directly tied to the relationship between the prevailing wage determination, actual wage and salary offered (summer 2006 Deans information, US DOL information). When make a conditional letter of offer is made following receiving the prevailing wage determinations and the HR/Provost Office approval to make an offer OIE requires that the a letter of understanding regarding the legal fees and petition process be provided by the hiring unit and signed by the future employee. A recommended letter can be found at this link.

FORM: Prevailing Wage Form (MS WORD form format) must be submitted to Sue Ann Balch, Office of International Education, 201 Hargis Hall or fax 844-4983. Please complete the form, print and scan/email to balchsa@auburn.edu AND intledu@auburn.edu Allow for a minimum processing time 7-14 business days

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Information Needed by Attorneys to Process H-1B application:

Institutional Information

Legal Name
Contact Name and Title/Name of Person who Will Sign for Company
Address
Address where alien will be employed
IRS Tax#/Federal ID#
Current number of employees
Current number of H-1 employees
Type of Business
Year Established
Gross Annual Revenues (for last fiscal year)
Annual Report, Brochure, or other descriptive material
Copy of letter of offer to individual and AU HR 100 or HR 106 approved by all appropriate AU parties

Applicant (and Dependent(s)) Information:

Is this a tenure track position?
Job title
Job description – include duties and minimum qualifications
Salary
Social Security Number and copy of card
Names of all dependents
City and country of birth (applicant and dependents)
Country of citizenship (if different) (applicant and dependents)
U.S. address (applicant and dependents)
Permanent address abroad (applicant and dependents)
Location of U.S. Consulate/Embassy closest to residence abroad
Present visa status
Expiration date of present authorized stay
Date of last entry to the U.S.
Date and Type of any prior immigration filings
Dates of any prior H stay

Supporting Documents for H-1 Case:

Resume or c.v.
Copy of degrees (with translation).
Copy of transcripts (with translation).
Copy of credentials evaluation (if available).
Copy of any prior immigration filings (if available).
Copy of Arrival/Departure (I-94) card (include dependents, if applicable).
Copy of all passport pages (include dependents, if applicable).
Copy of work permit (if applicable).
Copy of all I-20 forms (applicable to F-1 students).
Copy of all DS-2019 forms (applicable to J-1 Exchange Visitors).
DHS/DOS waiver if subject to J-1 two-year foreign residence requirement.
Copy of pay stubs from current employer if already on H-1b.

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