Virginia Tech®home

H-1B Request Procedure

H-1B Request Procedure flow chart

Pre-Certifications

  1. Export Compliance Questionnaire
  2. Actual Wage Information & Prevailing Wage Determination

Please do not proceed to the following steps until the pre-certification steps have been completed

 

Pre-Certifications

1) Export Compliance Questionnaire

ISS will need to receive a completed Export Compliance Questionnaire in conjunction with each non-immigrant petition request. This Questionnaire must be sent to the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance (OESRC) together with a copy of the foreign national's CV. Once reviewed, OESRC will send a review confirmation to the requesting department. This confirmation should be included with the ISS Request Form.

Please refer to the OESRC website for contact information and more information on this process. Please do not send the questionnaire directly to ISS; it will be returned to the department. Sending the questionnaire to ISS will delay the process. 

 

2) Actual Wage Information & Prevailing Wage Determination

Individuals in H-1B status must receive compensation that is equal to or higher than the actual wage or the prevailing wage for the position, whichever is higher. To determine whether the contemplated salary meets the actual wage and prevailing wage requirements, please send the Wage Analysis Worksheet to ISS.

NOTE: Once you have received the OESRC review and salary confirmation from ISS, please complete the following steps: 

 

Banner Budget Transfer

Each H-1B petition ISS files with USCIS requires a $700 internal H-1B processing fee. This fee is paid as a Banner budget transfer. Please pay this fee before submitting an H-1B request to ISS; you will need to include the Banner transaction journal number on the ISS Request Form.

A separate transfer is required for each H-1B petition. Each transaction must identify the individual for whom the payment is being made as well as the name of the department. The department has the prerogative to address collection of this fee from the employee, so long as collection of the fee from the employee does not bring his or her salary below the required wage, as determined by ISS.

Payment may come from either E&G or overhead funding. Payment instructions are as follows:

If using overhead funds please transfer the budget to:

        Fund Code: 233627
        Account Code: 1200
        Transaction Description: H-1B LastName, FirstName – Department

If using E&G funds please transfer the budget to:

        Fund Code: 117583
        Account Code: 1200
        Transaction Description: H-1B LastName, FirstName – Department 

 

Collect Personal Information

Before you submit the H-1B request to ISS, please collect the necessary personal information for the foreign national. This should be submitted to ISS together with the request, OESRC Review and the TOFO.

 

 

ISS Request Form

ISS will need to receive a new ISS Request Form each time a department is requesting an H-1B petition. Always use the online version of this request form. This form must be signed by the following individuals before it reaches ISS.

  • The Department Head
  • The Academic Dean
  • The Provost Office/ Research Division/HR depending on the type of position

 

Post and Return LCA postings

The US Department of Labor (DOL) requires that existing employees are notified when an H-1B petition is filed for a new or continuing employee. This requirement will be met by posting Form ETA 9035E, i.e. the Labor Condition Application or LCA, which will be posted in conjunction with the foreign national's H-1B petition in two (2) conspicuous locations at the job site. The department administrator requesting the H-1B is responsible for these postings.

Both the LCA and the Notice of Posting will be sent to the department administrator with instructions on how to proceed.

Appropriate locations include bulletin boards where Wage and Hour, OSHA, or other related notices are posted. The LCA must remain posted for ten (10) consecutive days.

Immediately after posting the LCAs, please confirm with ISS that they have been posted. Once ISS receives this confirmation, ISS can proceed with the H-1B petition. Failure to immediately notify our office of the posting will delay processing of the case.
After the LCAs have been posted for ten (10) consecutive days, please remove the LCAs and sign, date and return the original Notice of Posting and the LCA pages that were posted to ISS. 

 

Request Checks

The H-1B petition process involves several fees. The hiring department will need to request these checks from the Controller's Office. Once issued, ISS will collect the checks and include them with the H-1B petition.

All checks should be payable to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Please be sure to ask that the checks be held at the Bursar's Office for pick up.

When you submit an H-1B request to ISS, we will send you a copy of the completed H-1B sign off sheet via e-mail. Please be sure to attach this sign off sheet in Hokie Mart and to check the "Notify AP-Prepayment" box on the left side under cart name in Hokie Mart or the checks will not be issued.

Instructions will be emailed to the departmental administrator indicated on the H-1B request. 

 

TOFO

ISS will need to receive a copy of the TOFO (new or reappointment) with the request documents. The appointment period stated in the TOFO will be used to determine the end date of the requested H-1B period.

Because the ability to hire someone on the basis of H-1B status depends on several factors, such as meeting the prevailing and actual wage and complying with the relevant export control licensing requirements, we strongly recommend that you complete the precertification steps (i.e. the Wage Analysis Worksheet from ISS and complete the Export Compliance Questionnaire with OESRC) before finalizing the TOFO.

Please note that in the case of academic year appointments, it may be necessary to postpone the appointment end date beyond the formal end of the semester. If the appointment end date were to coincide with the end date of the semester, the foreign national would not be allowed to work beyond the end of the semester and, thus, would not be able to grade exams etc. Should you have questions or concerns about this, please contact the Provost's Office.