Foreign Hiring

An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits U.S. employers to employ qualified foreign nationals in specialty occupations on a temporary basis.

YES! Certain positions at DePaul University are eligible for sponsorship.

Per the University Sponsorship of Foreign Nationals policy, the approval of requests for sponsorship resides solely within the discretion of the University’s Immigration Attorney, acting under the authority and discretion of the General Counsel. Full-time faculty and full-time staff positions that require an undergraduate degree in a specific field are generally eligible for H-1B sponsorship. Approval will generally not be granted for requests to sponsor employees in part-time, grant-funded, or other short-term positions.

In the case of prospective faculty hires, the hiring College should notify the OGC as soon as it becomes aware that sponsorship may be necessary. In the case of prospective staff hires, Human Resources will notify the OGC prior to extending a formal offer of employment. However, hiring departments are encouraged to contact the Immigration Attorney earlier in the hiring process if the issue has been raised. You will need to complete a H-1B Request Form, which must include the appropriate Dean or VP's signature. Please contact Shalyn Ganellen to request the appropriate form, or visit our Immigration Forms page.

Filing an H-1B application involves two steps: (1) the Labor Condition Application (LCA), and (2) submission of a Form I-129 to USCIS.  Processing times generally vary between 2 and 5 months (or longer in the case of an application selected for random audit). USCIS identifies the filing dates of applications currently being processed on its website.  Premium (expedited) processing is available for an additional fee (see below). Applications filed using Premium processing will be reviewed by USCIS within 15 days of filing, but still make take up to six to eight weeks to fully process.

The University must pay all basic expenses related to an employee's H-1B petition.

Filing and Administrative Fees

All fees will be initially fronted by the OGC. Per the Policy, the employee's College or department is responsible for reimbursing the OGC for administrative and filing fees. These fees currently total approximately $1,000.00 per H-1B application or renewal application. The OGC's Business Manager will coordinate chargebacks with all departments sponsoring foreign national employees at the end of each fiscal year.

Legal Fees

The OGC works with external immigration counsel to prepare visa applications.  The OGC will pay all legal fees relating to University-sponsored visa petitions for employees.

Premium Processing Fees

In cases where premium processing is necessary or desirable to expedite an application for business reasons, the College or department may choose to expedite the application for an additional fee. In certain cases, such as an H-1B visa renewal, where premium processing is desired by the employee for personal reasons, the employee may choose to expedite the application at his/her own expense. Premium processing currently costs an additional $2,805.00 per application.

Fees Related to Family Petitions

Employees are responsible for all expenses (administrative, filing, and legal fees) associated with applications for family members that the employee wishes to add to his/her petition.

H-1B visas are valid for an initial period of three years from the date of issuance. H-1B visas may be renewed for a subsequent three year term, for a total of six years.

The OGC closely monitors all sponsored employees' visa expiration dates. The immigration attorney will generally contact you approximately 6 months prior to expiration to begin preparing a renewal application. However, you should never hesitate to make the first contact if you have any questions or concerns regarding your visa status. We are here to help!!