International Faculty & Staff

Rhodes College has a long tradition of fostering international education and welcoming international faculty, students, and staff as part of the Rhodes community. An essential component of Rhodes’s commitment to diversity and equity is our shared work toward the goal of recruiting, welcoming, supporting, and retaining international faculty and staff. The following links offer help at all stages of an international colleague’s experience at Rhodes.

Advice for the hiring department

Rhodes will always seek to provide international faculty and staff the highest level of support possible for their visa and immigration needs. There are of course guidelines in both federal and college policy that occasionally place restraints on the forms of support the college can offer. The hiring department is often in the best position to help point new international employees toward the resources the college offers them.

Good support for international members of our community and the effort to welcome and retain them begins with the job ad. If you suspect that an ad will attract strong international candidates, please consult April Allen about the job ad. Since the job ad becomes part of the hired international employee’s filings with United States Customs and Immigration Service, best practices in constructing it can later facilitate visa and permanent residence requests.

       Some considerations for the job ad:

1.      List specific requirements for the position but be careful about listing long wish lists of preferences. USCIS often challenges the selection if the hired employee does not meet the preferences in the job ad.

2.      Advertise in at least one national journal. Document the start date and the end date of the posting, assuring that the ad runs electronically for a minimum of thirty days.

3.      For positions that include teaching, make specific reference to teaching duties.

4.      To account for the wide range of ways international universities refer to fields of specialty, when referring to the specific field of study, it is important to add the phrase “or closely related field”.

5.      Clearly state the degree required. If ABDs will be considered, clearly state a deadline for completing the PhD.

6.      In referring to expected experience, take care to refer to “academic years” or to “semesters” rather than “years”. When reviewing labor certification applications, the U.S. Department of Labor reads “year” as twelve months, which may change the calculation for the employee and create unnecessarily high bars to clear.

The most important advice for hiring departments to offer best documentation support for international faculty members is TO START EARLY. Since the H-1B approval process can take 4-6 months, when initial letters of offer are extended by mid-February, departments give international faculty the best opportunity to have all visa documentation in order by the August start date. As soon as the international candidate has accepted an offer, consult April Allen about the first documentation steps. To provide proper visa support, April may need the department’s help in obtaining the following information from the new employee:

1.      country/countries of citizenship

2.      country of current residence

3.      other forms of expected income in addition to the contract with Rhodes

4.      plans for spouse and other dependent family members, i.e. Do family members plan to accompany the employee? Do they plan to work or study while in the US?

Documentation needs for international faculty

Rhodes understands that international faculty sometimes face challenges related to visa requests, visa renewals, and other documentation needs. We offer the following links to help you identify sources of support at the college and in the community.

H-1B

Although there are occasionally other options, most international employees will begin work at Rhodes on an H-1B visa. Normally, H-1B authorization may not exceed six total years including any previous H-1B or L-1 status. Each distinct H-1B petition may be submitted for a period of up to three years. If you are a Rhodes employee working on an H-1B visa, it is important that you schedule an H-1B consultation with April Allen as soon as your H-1B petition is approved and when any extensions or amendments are approved. In coordination with Human Resources, Ms. Allen is charged with assisting international faculty and staff in obtaining and maintaining appropriate status for work under H-1B.

Permanent Residence

Holders of tenured/tenure-track positions and holders of some essential permanent staff positions may be eligible for Rhodes College sponsorship of Permanent Residence petitions. While Rhodes can usually begin sponsorship of Permanent Residence petitions in the first year after initial hire, federal immigration policy varies according to country of origin and other factors and may affect some employees’ timetable of eligibility for sponsorship. As soon as the first offer letter has been extended to a tenured/tenure-track candidate, the chair of the hiring department in consultation with the new employee should be in contact with April Allen to inquire about eligibility for sponsorship and the appropriate permanent residence application category.

Most petitions for Permanent Residence are filed under EB-2, Employment-Based Second Preference. In rare cases and normally only for tenured faculty members, petitions are filed under EB-1, the Outstanding Professor/Researcher category.

There are preference categories that do not require the sponsorship of Rhodes College. Employees may choose to self-petition by filing the I-140 form (and later, the I-485 form) under the National Interest Waiver, the Extraordinary Ability, or the Outstanding Researcher/Professor category. Contact April Allen to inquire about a Rhodes letter of support. Beyond the letter of support for the effort to attain permanent residence, there are strict limitations to the assistance Rhodes can provide for employees who choose to self-petition. Although not required, Rhodes recommends that, whether filing with Rhodes sponsorship or self-petitioning, the employee hire an immigration attorney to assist with the filings. Attorneys hired by employees represent only the employee and are not authorized to represent Rhodes College.

While it is important that you successfully process visa and immigration documents, life as an international member of the Rhodes Community is about so much more. We hope you find the following links helpful for locating resources and support at Rhodes and in Memphis: