Work Visas in Short Supply

While the rest of the Class of 2007 coasts through a post-thesis spring, the senior class’s international students have yet another hurdle to overcome before graduation: obtaining work visas.

Despite the College’s efforts to expedite the application process for its students, only a handful of seniors were able to submit their petitions in time to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which announced Tuesday that its 2008 fiscal year quota for H-1B visas had already been filled.

USCIS began accepting applications on April 2 and had already received approximately 150,000 applications for the 65,000 visas by that afternoon, according to a press release.

“This is what everyone expected,” Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 wrote in an e-mailed statement. “A few of our students were able to get their applications in on time. Unfortunately most weren’t.”

Last year, USCIS announced that the quota was not filled until May 26—but still before the Class of 2006 had graduated and before they could even apply. USCIS grants the six-year H-1B visas to foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

To remedy last year’s scramble for the visas, the College tried to make it easier for seniors to file their applications prior to Harvard’s June commencement date.

In February, Gross had a roundtable discussion with international students about the College’s plan.

After international seniors informed the Harvard International Office last month of their need for an H-1B visa, the Office of the Registrar completed an accelerated grade audit for each student. The College also e-mailed students’ professors to encourage them to help students complete course requirements as soon as possible.

But approximately 30 international students were unable to apply for a visa and have been left to seek other solutions.

Pamela C. Chan ’07, an Undergraduate Council member who wrote the UC’s H-1B legislation that was passed in February, is a Canadian citizen seeking other types of visas for full-time employment in the United States. Chan said that she is pursuing a TN-1 visa that allows Canadian citizens to work in the United States for a one-year period.

“Especially now that the cap has already been filled, none of these initiatives amount to anything material,” Chan said about the efforts by the UC and the College. “I think this is now the time to get creative with your employers.”

Dimitris Lagias ’07 also could not complete his course requirements in time and will be working in the United States under Optional Practical Training, a program that allows participants to work in the United States for 12 months in a field related to their major.

“It’s a very frustrating process,” Lagias said. “You really tried hard for years to get a position and then you face bureaucracy that is not in your hands.”

Kevin Casey, Harvard’s senior director of federal and state relations, said that Harvard is working with other industries and associations to find exceptions to the H-1B visa cap, specifically for graduate students who already hold other graduate degrees.

“There are efforts to find creative means within the cap to peel off individuals who had previously been counted,” Casey said.

—Staff writer Madeline W. Lissner can be reached at mlissner@fas.harvard.edu.