Begin the H1B process at least six months prior to the requested H1B employment date. After determining that the person qualifies for H1B non-immigrant status, the hosting department will contact Employment Services, Emory Division of Human Resources (404/727-7114), for information and instructions on obtaining the Labor Conditions Application (LCA). Employment Services is responsible for obtaining the prevailing wage determination and the certified LCA from the Department of Labor. While the LCA is pending, the hosting department will complete and print out the online H-1B request. (Note: The prospective visitor cannot gain access to the ISSP functions in the Peoplesoft system.) The hosting department will gather the appropriate signatures, and together with the supporting documentation indicated at the end of these instructions (such as degrees or academic records, licenses to practice a profession, and letters and other documents attesting to the alien's qualifications), send the material to the office of International Student and Scholar Programs (ISSP). ISSP will review the documents for completeness and contact either you or the hosting deparment if additional information is required. Once the certified LCA is received by ISSP directly from Human Resources, the H1B petition will be filed.

Photocopies of original documents may be submitted, but original documents must be available for inspection by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) upon request. Any documents in a foreign language must be accompanied by an English translation. The translator must certify the accuracy of the translation and his or her competency in the language to be translated and English. This statement must be notarized (forms are available in ISSP). Credentials from less well-known foreign academic institutions should be evaluated for U.S. equivalency by a recognized credentials evaluation service.

After receiving all requested documents, ISSP requires two to four weeks to file the H1B petition with USCIS. Once received by USCIS, the petition is normally processed in three to seven months. For this reason, please allow six months for USCIS processing before the official start date of employment (it is not possible to obtain a certified LCA prior to six months immediately preceding the requested employment period). USCIS has instituted a Premium Processing Service in which they will adjudicate a complete petition within 15 calendar days of receipt; the processing fee is $1,000. This is in addition to the normal processing fee of $320 and a separate check is required.

Employment cannot begin without final H1B approval unless the individual is already in a valid status which allows employment at Emory, or the individual is currently in H1B status and working for another employer, in which case employment can commence when the ISSP offices receives the official USCIS receipt notice (proof that Emory University's H1B petition for the individual has been received by the USCIS and is pending). The H1B approval is granted on USCIS Form I-797 notice of approval and if the H-1B employee is currently in the U.S. and requested a change of status and extension of stay, a new Form I-94: Departure Record is generated on the Form I-797.