Visa Types: The Information You Want to Know
A candidate’s current visa status can affect the time it takes to obtain employment authorization to hire the employee. Depending on the candidate’s status, this could be immediate or take up to 12 months in extreme cases.
Ideally, we recommend a lead time of at least 9 months before the hire date for our office and Fragomen to prepare and file the non-immigrant petition. We understand that this much time is not always possible, and we can process cases with shorter timeframes. Please note that these cases may incur additional expediting fees and have greater associated risks due to the shorter timeframe.
From case initiation to adjudication, non-immigrant visas can take between 12 to 18 months under standard processing. For Change of Status and Change of Employer cases, our office requires a premium processing fee to be paid to USCIS, which can shorten the process to 6 to 8 months. We recognize that the hire date timing may not always align with the 9-month recommendation, so the petition timeline can be adjusted based on agreements without the official prevailing wage determination.
This is applicable when filing H-1B and E-3 status. Since H-1B is the most common visa status at the University, it’s crucial to consider this when hiring international employees.
The Department of Labor (DOL) regulations require UF to pay international employees the higher of the Prevailing Wage or Actual Wage.
International employees should avoid traveling while their non-immigrant visa petitions are pending with USCIS without contacting our office first. Traveling abroad during specific stages of the non-immigrant visa process can impact the petition’s outcome.
International employees changing their status to a non-immigrant employment visa within the U.S. typically don’t need to leave the U.S. to obtain a new visa stamp in their passport. However, after any foreign travel, a new visa stamp in their passport is required.