Important Information for Departments Sponsoring Foreign Workers for Clinical Fellowships and Residency Training Programs
Compliance Forms for H-1B requests should all be signed by the School of Medicine’s Dean’s Office prior to submission to the ISSS office for filing. Please note: this includes petitions for clinical residents and fellows. Petitions for residents and fellows DO NOT need to be routed through the GME office for purposes of compliance form signatures. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact ISSS.
Prevailing Wage Notes
As most of you are probably aware from earlier notifications, recent changes in the Department of Labor processing for prevailing wage determination requests (PWD’s) and labor condition application (LCA) requests are expected to add considerable time to the processing of H-1B requests.
Due to the increase in processing time, ISSS has been looking at ways to ensure that departments with foreign clinical fellows and residents, that need H-1B status, can still arrive at Emory for an employment start date of July 1, 2010.
As match day is not until March, beginning H-1B processing after that time will likely result in H-1B’s not being issued until close to or after July 1. To cut down on processing time, we are encouraging departments to start the prevailing wage process now.
Janice Parmer in Employee Services is the contact for PWD/LCA filings. Instructions on filing the PWD/LCA can be found here, and the new ETA 9141 form can be found here.
Most of you already know the standard information regarding the position within your residency/fellowship training program for hiring a foreign national in H-1B is likely, even if you do not know the individual’s name and/or the number of individuals you will be bringing in who need an H-1B. As these training positions are usually standardized titles, salary, and job duties, you can request one PWD to be used for all the fellows/residents you will be hiring in that job title that need an H-1B.
Once you receive the certified PWD, you can use the certified PWD to complete the LCA for each person you are hiring in H-1B status. Once you know who you will be bringing in to fill your positions, notify Janice Parmer immediately. She will provide instructions on posting the PWD, which must occur before an LCA can be submitted to the USDOL. Janice Parmer will file the LCA for each hire and put a copy of the PWD in the appropriate inspection files.
By having the PWD’s done ahead of time, you will save approximately 6 to 8 weeks of processing time.
As salaries for the 2010 residents and fellows may not have been set yet, use the salaries from the previous year. As long as the new salaries are higher than what has been attested to on the PWD, we can still use that PWD for the LCA and H-1B application.
Tips for completing the new PWD Request Form (ETA 9141)
On the PWD request (form ETA 9141), please answer “yes” to question 8 in page 2 and include the following to question 8a: “This is a training position in which the physician gains further training in a subspecialty. Therefore, the salary offered is not that of a fully-trained physician.”
The ETA 9141 form asks for the shift that an individual anticipates working. Understandably, this is a difficult question to answer for residents and fellows who will work many different shifts over the course of a pay period. On ETA 9141, Section D, Part a., Question 3a, Hourly Work Schedule, enter the complete 24 hour period if your resident or fellow will not have a set schedule. Then, on question 6, Job Duties, add the following sentence: “The physician will work a variable schedule within the 24 hour period which averages “X” amount of hours per week.”
As a reminder, the PWD request should only list the training, education, and experience required to meet the minimum criteria for the position. Do not include the employee’s credentials in the experience needed section.
LCA Notes
Make sure to ask for the full three years on your LCA requests, or for the time encompassing the duration of the training program, whichever is less. It is unpredictable whether USCIS will issue the H-1B for the full three years we request or just issue for one year at a time. However, if the LCA is valid for three years and the H-1B only gets issued for one year, you will not need to re-do the LCA for the remaining two years.
CSBME Training Permit Letters
Departments making requests to CSBME for training permits/licenses for residents and fellows should be sure to include a request to CSBME that they issue a letter for “visa purposes” and that the letter is emailed to Terra.Martin@emory.edu . Carol Dorsey at the CSBME is the contact for creating these letters. She can be contacted at cdorsey@dch.ga.gov . ISSS will not request this letter on your behalf. Each department is responsible for ensuring that ISSS is issued these letters to enclose with the H-1B application.
General H-1B Filing Reminders
Please remember that ISSS cannot file an H-1B until the entire packet is complete, including the certified LCA and training permit information. Packets can be sent to ISSS that do not include the LCA or CSBME letter, if those documents are still pending. However, please do not send packets that are missing other required documentation. Send the packets to ISSS complete, according to the documentation details checklist found online.
Once a packet is complete, we request 2-4 weeks to process and file a petition during our heavy filing season.
Departments should be prepared to premium process petitions for any new H-1B applications. Non-immigrants already on an H-1B can work on their receipt notices for up to 240 days. However, new H-1B applicants must have an approval notice in order to begin employment. Further, premium processing will be necessary for anyone concerned about getting a Georgia Driver’s license by July 1, as an approval notice is necessary to apply for a Georgia Driver’s license.
The compliance form for H-1B request for residents and fellows should be signed by the School of Medicine Dean’s Office prior to submission to ISSS. All H-1B applications for residents and fellows should be directed to Terra Martin at ISSS (terra.martin@emory.edu or 404-727-1732).
Finally, please ensure that your new residents and fellows take the time to come to ISSS scholar orientation. Orientation plays an important role for scholars in understanding the rules and regulations associated with H-1B status.