H1-B Status
H-1B is a nonimmigrant visa status that enables foreign nationals to work in the United States on a temporary basis. It can be used to hire teaching faculty, researchers, and certain staff.
To be eligible for H-1B status, an individual must be a professional who has a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and will be working in a “specialty occupation”. A specialty occupation requires the “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge” to perform the occupation, and the attainment of a bachelor’s or a higher degree in the specific specialty as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the U.S.
The International Faculty Advisor, working with hiring departments, files H-1B petitions on behalf of PSU employees. Hiring departments should contact the International Faculty Advisor as early in the hiring process as possible, preferably as soon as they are aware that an individual may require visa sponsorship.