Services

IMMIGRANT STATUS

   Immigrant status is permanent. It confers the foreign national the right to live and work in the United States. This status is achieved through Permanent Residency. At Texas A&M University faculty, scholars and staff generally obtain Permanent Residency in the United States through the mechanisms of employment-based immigration. In this regard, Permanent Residency is a two-step or three-step process depending upon the type of immigrant classification sought:

(1) The foreign national must first be qualified as an immigrant by petitioning an Immigrant Visa (Form I-140), which will allows subsequently to:

(a) Adjust his/her status to Permanent Resident.

(b) If the foreign national qualifies only under EB-2 (see below) an Alien Labor Certification (ALC) must first be obtained from the Department of Labor before applying for an Immigrant Visa.

   Employment based immigrant visa options for faculty, scholars and staff at Texas A&M University are the following.

First Preference -- Employment-Based Priority Workers EB-1

(Do not require an Alien Labor Certification)

Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

Outstanding Professors and Researcher

Second Preference - Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Aliens Exceptional Ability EB-2

(Alien Labor certification required unless case falls under national interest exemption)

Holders of Advanced Degrees

Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

National Interest Waiver

Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident

  

INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING GENERAL PETITION PROCESSING PROCEDURES:

   International Faculty and Scholar Services (hereinafter IFSS) is committed to render a more efficient service to our employing departments and foreign nationals. Accordingly, we have developed procedures, which we hope will enhance our service and help expedite the processing of petitions, in a timely fashion. We ask that you to please comply with them.

   In addition, hiring departments as well as foreign nationals are surprised to learn how much time it takes to process nonimmigrant and immigrant petition from beginning to end. In order to assist hiring departments and foreign national employees in calculating the estimated processing times and submission of the documentation to IFSS we have developed the IFSS Processing Time Chart

(1)  If you are not familiar with the requirements and documentation needed in order for IFSS to file the appropriate petition, please read carefully the entire text concerning Procedural Steps in Obtaining the Visa Classification sought. Throughout the text you will see specific references to the documentation that we will need from the foreign national and the hiring department. Please compile the supporting documentation requested.  

(2)  All supporting documentation from the foreign national and the hiring department should be collected by the hiring department and submitted by the hiring department to IFSS.

(3)  The check(s) to cover the USCIS filing fee(s) should be submitted to IFSS together with the supporting documentation at the beginning of the petitioning process.

(4) Applications for any immigration processing must have the required supporting evidence. Attached to the different immigration categories you will find a Request for Supporting Documentation. Please find the applicable immigration category and check that all the documentation requested is enclosed with your petition. You can quickly find what forms you need by visiting IFSS Forms Link Note that IFSS will not accept any application for processing until all the required documentation is submitted. Incomplete application will be returned to the hiring department.

(5) The hiring department will be responsible for the cost of sending the application to USCIS via US certified mail return receipt. If the hiring department wishes or otherwise is required to send the foreign national's petition by express courier service, the hiring department must provide IFSS with the appropriate airbill for the express mail service showing the hiring department's account number and other necessary data.

(6) Two complete sets of copies of all supporting documentation must be submitted with the application. If photocopies are not submitted IFSS will charge the department the cost of the photocopies. Photocopies must be submitted together with a Certification of True Copies signed by the beneficiary.

   Note that IFSS will not be able to process without the completion, on the part of the hiring department, of the Department's Authorization Form for Permanent Residency