Harvard University offers permanent residency sponsorship to individuals who hold long term appointments as faculty or high level researchers. Inquiries regarding potential sponsorship should be directed to the appropriate faculty sponsor or departmental administrator who, in turn, contacts Anne Gardsbane, Assistant Director in the HIO.
The HIO most routinely uses either Labor Certification regulations written specifically for faculty recruitment or an Outstanding Professor Researcher petition to pursue permanent residency on behalf of eligible faculty or researchers.
Faculty Recruitment Labor Certification is intended for faculty appointments for which a full academic recruitment was conducted. The application must include documentation to show that the employer selected the faculty member for the position pursuant to a competitive recruitment and selection process. The faculty member must have been found to be more qualified than U.S. workers who applied.
Among the documentation required is a statement from the search committee, copies of advertisement of the position, and proof that the faculty member fully met the minimum requirements advertised for the position at the time of hire. Additionally, the advertisement must have appeared in a hard copy publication, searches only conducted online are not eligible or Labor Certification.
The application for Faculty Recruitment Labor Certification is submitted to the Department of Labor by the HIO. The application must be filed within eighteen months after a selection has been made following a competitive recruitment selection process.
An Outstanding Professor Researcher petition may be utilized for cases on behalf of either faculty or researchers who have been internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic area. For faculty, the petition is most commonly used for cases in which a full academic search was not completed, or the eligibility period for Special Handling Labor Certification application has expired. This petition is the primary route used by the HIO for researchers.
An Outstanding Professor Researcher petition requires comprehensive documentation. Among the items that are routinely filed are published articles or books authored by the applicant, letters of recommendation, and proof of judging work of others in the academic field. Eligibility requirements also mandate that the applicant must have at least three years of experience teaching or research in the academic field and that the appointment must be tenure track or of an indefinite nature.
The Outstanding Professor Researcher petition is submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service by the HIO. There is no regulatory time period with regard to when the petition must be submitted.