Departments planning to offer an academic appointment to someone who is currently in the U.S. on a non-immigrant student visa should be sure to complete all PDS forms and to consult an advisor in the HIO. Foreign students usually hold either an F-1 or a J-1 student visa. Under certain circumstances, the Government allows a foreign student in either F-1 or J-1 status to request an extension of stay beyond the graduation date in order to gain practical work experience related to his or her field of study in the U.S. For F-1 students this is called practical training and for J-1 students it is called academic training.
Harvard appointments for individuals eligible for practical or academic training should be handled carefully. It is not always possible to obtain a change of visa status for J-1 students in order to allow them to continue their appointment beyond the expiration date of the academic training because of the two-year home country residence requirement (see section on J visas).
Individuals who come to Harvard to work in administrative or staff positions will not usually be eligible for Harvard-sponsored visas at the end of the student practical or academic training period. They will be limited to working only until the end of their authorized practical training. If you have any questions about an appointment for someone completing a degree at a U.S. institution, please be sure to consult an advisor in the HIO.