Permanent Residence
UTSA colleges, departments, and institutes are increasingly attracting international job applicants and hiring more foreign national faculty and staff members. In some cases, the hiring UTSA organization will decide to sponsor the international employee for permanent employment authorization.
UTSA policy on the hiring of foreign nationals is set forth in the UTSA Handbook of Operating Procedures, 4.24 Hiring of Foreign Nationals: http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter4/4-24.html.
International Services has established a contract with UT System Office of General Counsel, that will allow UTSA (on behalf of the sponsoring department) to outsource all permanent residency requests (EB1, EB2, and Special Handling for tenure track teaching faculty positions. In case of Special Handling, the application must be submitted within 18 months of the offer of employment) to approved outside legal immigration counsel.
Special Handling Overview and Procedure
Foreign nationals who have been selected through a competitive recruitment and selection process and who occupy certain teaching positions may be eligible to seek permanent residency through PERM Special Handling Labor Certification. The application must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) within 18 months of the job offer. The hiring department must demonstrate to DoL that after a competitive recruitment and selection process, the foreign national was found to be more qualified than any of the U.S. applicants.
Employing UTSA Department and/or Applicant is responsible for payment of a $5,500 Legal fee for the Permanent Residency petition.
The $5,500 fee is for attorney costs and services. It does not include the (additional) federal application processing fees required to be paid to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). A sample of filing fees typically required by the USCIS is attached here.
The form must be reviewed, approved, and signed by the sponsoring department chair and the college dean (or vice president, if applicable). The request form is forwarded to the Vice Provost/Senior International Officer (via International Scholar Services) for final approval and subsequent referral to outside counsel.
Once referred, the sponsoring department will be contacted by the outside law firm to immediately begin processing the petitioner's permanent residency petition.
Use the Foreign National Hire Visa Chart to determine if you may be eligible for immigration/Green Card status.
