Office of Human Resources

Hiring departments should be aware of certain information when hiring foreign nationals into their departments

In general, the University provides support for foreign national students through the F-1 visa and J-1 visa. In some cases, the J-1 visa may be eligible for employment support. If you would like more information on these visas, please contact the Office of International Programs at oip@appstate.edu and visit https://international.appstate.edu/.

In general, the University provides support for foreign nationals seeking employment through employment authorization and the H-1B visa. If you would like more information on these statuses, please contact Immigration Support at immigrationsupport@appstate.edu.

The H-1B visa is an employment-based visa that allows a foreign national to legally work in the United States in a specialty occupation. A specialty occupation can be defined as a position that has specified requirements. The employer (known as the petitioner and the sponsor) submits the H-1B application on behalf of the foreign national (known as the beneficiary).

An H-1B visa can be valid for up to six (6) years, however the maximum time the employer can request at the time of filing is up to three (3) years. If an employer seeks the maximum time, then an employer should only need to file two (2) times on behalf of the foreign national – at the point of initial hire and at the point of renewing for another maximum timeframe.

The University seeks to provide support for foreign nationals employed at the University where eligibility applies. Eligibility has multiple layers including but not limited to position type, degree requirements, and salary.

Positions eligible for H-1B sponsorship at App State may include full time faculty and full time staff roles. Positions NOT eligible for H-1B sponsorship at App State include part-time faculty roles, part-time staff roles, temporary roles, time-limited roles, and positions classified as SHRA.

Positions eligible for permanent residency sponsorship at App State are limited to full-time faculty positions with tenure track status. Positions NOT eligible for permanent residency sponsorship at App State include full-time non-tenure-track faculty roles, part-time non-tenure-track faculty roles, full-time staff roles, part-time staff roles, temporary roles, time-limited roles, and positions classified as SHRA.

If the established position is eligible to provide support, then the next step is to verify the minimum requirements for the position. Positions that are eligible for support must provide a valid degree requirement in at least one specified field, and/or should include closely related fields. Positions with an unspecified degree requirement may not provide eligibility for support. The type of degree (bachelors, masters, doctoral) is dependent on the position and may require comparison with the Department of Labor wage data codes.

Salary requirements for a foreign national being hired in the US are dependent on the Department of Labor wage data codes. These codes provide information on degree requirements and expected minimum salary requirements. Salary requirements differ by location and require verification prior to moving forward with University sponsored visa support. If a salary does not meet the Department of Labor minimum requirements and the hiring department is not able to provide additional funds for salary, then the position may not provide eligibility for support.

Immigration Support will review positions expected to hire a foreign national to ensure that all eligibility requirements are met to ensure sponsorship can occur.

When selecting a final candidate, it is always important to choose the best candidate for the position. In addition, when selecting a foreign national as a final candidate, it is important to ensure that the foreign national candidate meets all requirements listed in the position minimum requirements.

If a foreign national candidate does not meet all of the listed minimum requirements, it can jeopardize the H-1B process and/or if eligible, the permanent residency process for the foreign national.

In most cases, an H-1B visa is submitted by an employer on behalf of a beneficiary (foreign national) through one employer for one position at one location. This simply means that the beneficiary (foreign national) cannot have multiple employers, multiple jobs, and multiple worksites without prior approval. The University does not approve multiple employers or multiple jobs, but will review requests on case-by-case basis.

A worksite is a location where work can occur for employment. At App State, we seek to provide an H-1B petition with at least two worksites – with the first being the foreign national office building (or building where classes are taught) and the second being the US home address of the foreign national. By listing the US home address, this would allow foreign nationals to work from home. Additional worksites can be provided by the foreign national and/or by the hiring department, but may require approval by the Department Chair.

If a foreign national has multiple employers, multiple jobs, and/or multiple worksites without authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it can result in the revocation of the H-1B visa or future denial of status (if eligible for an extension).

If you are seeking to hire a foreign national into your department, please be aware that the H-1B employment authorization process takes up to 8 weeks to complete (when using premium processing). Therefore, deadlines are in place to have your foreign national hire at the status of "Verbal Offer Accepted". For Fall hires, the deadline is May 31 and for Spring hires, the deadline is October 15.

The University bears responsibility for required filing fees for employer based filings. For departments under Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs covers the cost required filing fees, however the individual hiring department is responsible for the optional fee of premium processing if there is a business need for its use. For all other departments (outside of Academic Affairs), the hiring department is responsible for the required filing fees and the optional premium processing fee, if there is business need for its use.

As of May 2025, premium processing costs $2,805. This amount is subject to change without notice or reason. Business need for the use of premium processing relates mostly to processing time, as standard processing can take 3-6 months, while premium processing reduces the wait time for an adjudication (decision) by USCIS to 15 business days. If a business need is not present, the foreign national can elect to provide payment for this fee, however the fee amount will not be reimbursed to the foreign national.

For the employer-filed aspects of the permanent residency process, only the Form I-140 (third step of the permanent residency process) requires a filing fee. For departments under Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs covers this filing fee. For all other departments, the individual hiring department is responsible for the required filing fee. The other employer-filed aspects of the permanent residency process (Prevailing Wage Determination and ETA-9089) do not have filing fees associated with them.

Some of the self-filing aspects of the permanent residency process require payment to be made by the foreign national. Filing fees associated with self-filing processes will not be reimbursed to the foreign national.

During the H-1B process, the hiring department will need to provide several documents regarding the hired foreign national. This can include but not be limited to:

• Intake Questionnaire
• Export Controls Form (required to be evaluated by Office of Research and included in the H-1B petition)
• Documentation of wage information (for the Public Access File)
• Letter of Support documenting the position and the foreign national’s qualifications (for the H-1B petition)

This process is repeated at each time an H-1B is initiated for an individual.

The process for conducting an H-1B visa takes about 5 weeks to reach the point of filing, broken down as:

• 1-2 weeks to gather documents, finalize contracts, and assemble the Public Access File
• 2 weeks to post a Notice of Filing and get it certified by the Department of Labor
• 1 week to assemble the petition, conduct an internal review, and submit for review by the UNC System Office immigration attorney

At the point of filing, it can take an additional 3 weeks to submit to USCIS for review using premium processing, or up to 6 months using regular processing.

During the permanent residency process, the hiring department will need to provide several documents regarding the hired foreign national. This can include but not be limited to:

• Final Report of the Search Committee (required for the ETA-9089 and I-140)
• Statement by the Department Chair of the hired foreign national’s qualifications (required for the ETA-9089 and I-140)
• Table of Applicants (required for the ETA-9089 and I-140, may be requested at the time initial hire)

In addition to the required documents, the hiring department will be required to post a Notice of Filing (for the ETA-9089) in a public location within the department for 15 business days. Upon removal, a 30 day waiting period must occur before the ETA-9089 is able to be submitted. Because of the required 51 total days needed to complete the Notice of Filing, the Notice must begin its posting no later than two full months (60 days) prior to the deadline to ensure filing on time.

The hiring department does not provide any documents during the Prevailing Wage Determination. The hiring department may be asked to provide documentation during the foreign national’s self-filing processes for permanent residency. If documentation is requested, it must be reviewed by Immigration Support.

Please refer to the “General Permanent Residency Process” for more detailed information.

The permanent residency process is multiple steps and can take several years to complete. Appalachian State University does not participate in any forms of permanent residency processes that can result in a foreign national becoming a permanent resident in a specified amount of time.

Appalachian State University does support the Special Handling PERM process, in which the University seeks to submit a Prevailing Wage Determination and ETA-9089 on behalf of the foreign national within 18 months of the foreign national being offered the position at App State, or the date of contract issue. This is an accelerated process but does not guarantee permanent residency in a specified amount of time.

The processing times listed in the below process are estimated as of May 2025 and are subject to change without notice or reason. In addition, the process listed below is subject to change if policies and/or procedures with USCIS change.

The permanent residency process is broken down into four major parts, identified as:

• Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) - The PWD is a document that certifies the salary being paid to the foreign national meets federal minimum requirements. This is generally submitted by the employer within the second month of employment and can take 6-8 months to be certified.

• ETA-9089, Application for Permanent Employment Certification - The ETA-9089 requires a certified Prevailing Wage and is used to detail the foreign national’s qualifications through work history and education history. The ETA-9089 must be submitted by the employer before June 30 or before the 18 months deadline (from date of offer or contract) and can take 16-18 months to be certified.

• I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker - The I-140 requires a certified ETA-9089 and is an employer’s petition to support a foreign national for permanent residency. The I-140 will often require verifiable documentation of information provided in the ETA-9089. The I-140 must be submitted by the employer within 6 months of an approved ETA-9089 and can take up to 24 months to be approved.

• I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status - The I-485 requires an approved I-140 and is an application submitted by the foreign national (self-filing process). It is recommended that a foreign national consult an immigration attorney to assist in the filing of the I-485. 

Once a foreign national receives an approved I-485 status, they will receive their permanent resident card (green card) by mail. Additional steps may be required, and it is recommended that foreign nationals consult an immigration attorney to assist in further processes.