ISSS Processing fee $750, $500 extension
DHS Filing Fee $460
DHS Anti-Fraud Fee $500
DHS Premium Processing $14105 (optional)

  1. Processing time .... 4-6 months.
    • Request from the professor ... Offer letter/Acceptance
    • Application sent to scholar from iStart website
    • Scholar completes application and Human Resources office gathers all necessary info and verifies it for accuracy. This can be a lengthy process. More effort is required to obtain an H-1 visa than a J-l visa. Filing fees need to be sent to the Dept. of Homeland Security, the scholar may need to provide the first page of 2-3 publications, as well as updated letters of recommendation. Cover letters are required for both ISSS and the Dept. of Homeland Security applications.
    • Application forwarded to the International Office for their processing. ISSS processes a Prevailing Wage Assessment as well as a Labor Condition Application (LCA is an application stating that as an employer, we meet certain standards). Prevailing Wage Assessment is an application that is sent off to Chicago and an assessment is performed of all the area salaries in that particular field and a figure based on these averages is provided. If the professor is not paying at or above that salary, the professor will be given the choice to either increase the offered salary or to not hire the scholar. Once the Prevailing Wage Assessment is returned and the LCA completed (usually 5 weeks), this is then posted on the third floor of Noyes Lab in the HR Office area and in the west hallway on the first floor of Noyes Lab for 10 days.
  2. All applicants must be approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Dept. of Homeland Security), therefore, once all information is gathered and has been posted for the approved 10 days and ISSS has looked all the information over, it is then mailed to the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) by the Human Resources Office.
  3. The DHS process may be expedited by paying a fee of $1,410 to the DHS. This means that for $1,410, the DHS must give us a response within 15 calendar days. This could mean an "approval" or simply a request for additional information.
  4. H-IB visa holders receive full university benefits. This means they receive the same benefits that faculty and staff receive ... health, retirement, life insurance, worker's compensation and Medicare.
  5. Since the scholar's appointment is a contract, should their appointment end early, unless the scholar resigns their position, the professor must pay for return transportation.
  6. All H-l B holders must be full time per University of Illinois policy.
  7. Scholars can remain on an H-l for a maximum 6 years.