IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
Effective October 19th, 2020 the premium processing filing fee for all I-129 petitions increased from $1,440 to $2,500. View the announcement here.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the ISSC via email InternationalScholars@asu.edu or (480) 727-7125.
There are many ways to become a permanent resident, including self-sponsorship or sponsorship by others such as family members or employers. The ISSC is responsible for the majority of employer-sponsored petitions for permanent residence for employees of ASU.
Upon receipt of a request from the appropriate hiring unit (e.g. department, center or school) the ISSC will prepare petitions for permanent residence on behalf of employees in two categories:
tenured (or tenure track) faculty positions
non-teaching research positions of a permanent nature
Application Types
The two main types of applications handled by the ISSC are:
Obtaining permanent residence through the outstanding professor or researcher petition is currently a very lengthy process, and the requirements within this category have become increasingly stringent in recent years.
The labor certification route to permanent residence has become much quicker in recent years. However, labor certifications have very strict requirements in terms of advertising, hiring procedures, and timing of the application. Therefore, it is essential that hiring units contact ISSC as early as possible in the hiring process.
Outstanding Professor or Researcher
This category is limited to those individuals who have at least three years of teaching or research experience, and are recognized internationally as outstanding in their academic fields. The process for obtaining permanent residence by this route is currently taking two years or longer. Unless the individual is a full professor with an extremely strong record of acclaim, this process is no longer viable or extremely difficult at best.
Outstanding professor or researcher cases will be processed by outside legal counsel. University departments wishing to sponsor employees in this category should send their requests to the ISSC. Under the guidance and advice of the University’s Office of General Counsel, ISSC will discuss with the sponsoring department the options available to them for pursuing legal assistance in processing and filing these types of cases.
If it is determined that the EB-1 category is the most appropriate, ISSC will coordinate with the University’s Office of General Counsel to refer the case to outside legal counsel. University Departments will be responsible for all legal costs associated with the process.
Labor Certification
There are two types of labor certification:
special handling
reduction in recruitment
Both processes require open, competitive recruitment. Labor certifications for teaching positions require that the non-citizen is the “most qualified” candidate. For non-teaching positions, the requirement is that no U.S. citizen who meets the minimum qualifications has applied for the position.
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