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How
to Maintain Legal H-1 or O-1 Status in the United States
It is essential to remember that you must take full responsibility for
maintaining your status with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
That is, you are responsible for finding out, knowing, and following pertinent
regulations. If you take time early on to familiarize yourself with your
obligations to the DHS, you should find it easy to maintain your legal
status. If, however, you allow yourself to become "out of status,"
you may be subject to serious repercussions that may impede your ability
to return to the United States in future years.
If you have any questions you should consult the staff of the ISSO or
the IAO. Every effort has been made to provide reliable and accurate information
on rules that govern scholar immigration classifications. When regulations
change-as is frequently the case-the ISSO or the IAO will have up-to-date
information. Come in and ask questions anytime. As your visa sponsor,
Columbia University has legal obligations that are met by the ISSO or
the IAO.
If you follow the guidelines listed below, you should have few problems
maintaining your immigration status.
1. Keep your passport valid.
Refer again to “Immigration Definitions”.
2. Notify the appropriate
office if there is any change in address. All non-immigrants are required
to notify the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within 10
days of a change of address. If you are in H-1 or O-1 status, notification
is accomplished by completing Form AR-11, downloadable from www.uscis.gov,
and mailing the completed form to USCIS. It is advisable to send the AR-11
by certified mail, return receipt requested. If you have undergone Special
Registration (SR) at a United States Immigration and Citizenship Services
(USCIS) district office or a Port of Entry, you must follow SR instructions
and file Form
AR-11SR as required.
3. Accept no employment
of any kind other than that which is authorized by your H-1 or O-1 petition.
H-1 and O-1 status are employer-specific and, as such, do not allow
you to accept compensation, including honoraria, from any other entity.
You may have more than one employer at the same time, but each employer
must file an H-1 or O-1 petition for you.
4. Never stay in the United
States beyond the date shown on your I-94 card.
Your status is dependent upon your continued employment. If you complete
your purpose for being in H or O status earlier than the date indicated
on the I-94 card, you are no longer maintaining your status and must leave
the United States earlier. There is no grace period for H-1 and O-1 status.
Two exceptions that allow you to remain in the United States with an expired
I-94 card are :
- when a timely petition to extend your H-1 or O-1 status has been filed
and the petition is pending with USCIS.
- when a timely application for a change of status has been filed and
is pending with USCIS. A change of status must be filed before the current
status expires. This allows you to remain in the U.S. after the I-94
card expires while the application is pending, but does not allow you
to work during this time.
5. Obtain extensions, as
needed, of your permission to stay and work in the United States.
H-1B1: Those in H-1B1 status are allowed to stay a total of six years*
in H status but will be approved for a maximum of only three years at
a time. The earliest a petition to extend H-1 status can be filed is six
months in advance of the expiration of the current approved petition.
Departments are advised to apply for the extension early on as processing
time by USCIS cannot be predicted or guaranteed. The H-1 petition for
extension is the same as the original, except that you do not need to
include documentation relating to other non-immigrant status(es) you may
have held prior to H-1, and that all prior H-1approval notices (form I-797)
should be included. If you have any dependents with you in H-4 status,
they must have their status extended as well. An additional form I-539,
and fee, must be included with your extension petition.
If a timely extension is filed (i.e. before the expiration of the current
status), regulations allow individuals in H-1 status to continue to work
for the same employer for up to 240 days while the extension petition
is pending at USCIS. You will need to complete a new I-9 form with your
department manager so that your salary is not interrupted.
*An exception
to the 6-year limitation applies to individuals who have part of an employment-based
application for permanent residency (labor certification, I-140, or I-485)
pending at least 365 days by the end of the sixth year.
O-1: O status can initially be granted for three years and can be renewed
indefinitely in one-year increments by application to USCIS. The earliest
a petition to extend O-1 status can be filed is six months in advance
of the expiration of the current approved petition. Departments are advised
to apply for the extension early on as processing time by USCIS cannot
be predicted or guaranteed. The O-1 petition for extension does not need
to include all the same documentation as required by the original. You
should, however, update your C.V. and publications list, and include copies
of one or two new publications, if available. If you have any dependents
with you in O-3 status, they must have their status extended as well.
An additional form I-539, and fee, must be included with your extension
petition.
6. Have an H-1 or O-1 petition
filed by each concurrent or subsequent employer.
Since H-1 status and O-1 status are employer-specific, an H-1B or
O-1 petition approved for Columbia cannot be used to work anywhere else.
A subsequent employer must also file an entire, new petition for you.
There is a "portability" provision in H-1 regulations which
allows an applicant who is already in H1B status to begin working at the
new employer as soon as that employer receives a notice of receipt for
their H1B petition from the USCIS. This means that employment can begin
before the processing and approval of the petition is complete. Portability
does NOT apply to O-1 status. An individual in O-1 status must wait for
the subsequent employer's O-1 petition to be approved before they can
begin to work there.
7. If there are any changes
contemplated to your employment or program, e.g. salary, title or rank,
funding, department, or immigration status, you must notify the ISSO or
the IAO immediately.
Also, the ISSO needs to be informed if you are leaving Columbia before
the completion date of your approved petition.
8. Columbia-sponsored H-1
visitors may engage in clinical research and patient care services ONLY
if DHS has been notified and licensure and exam requirements have been
met.
Contact the IAO for further information.
Last Reviewed: 22 November 2005 Last modified: 22 November 2005
International Students and Scholars Office
Columbia University
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