The System International Employment Services (SIES) office provides guidance to our six South Dakota Board of Regents (SDBOR) institutions on employment based immigration rules and processes. All university sponsored employment based immigration requires input from the employee and their department.
Visitors
People who are temporarily visiting the U.S. for business purposes may qualify for B-1 or WB visa. The SEIS office does not provide advice or filing assistance for visitor visas, but can connect you with information and resources to help determine if this is the appropriate visa for your situation.
J-1 Exchange Visitor status may be appropriate for visiting researchers, professors and collaborators. The SEIS office does not manage the J-1 program, but can connect you with the correct campus contact to answer questions or provide assistance.
We understand that employees may have work related reasons to travel outside of the US such as attending conferences or research collaboration. Each destination has unique immigration requirements based on the purpose of travel and the country your passport is from. Because of our limited resources and focus on US Immigration we cannot offer advice or support in navigating visa requirements for travel outside of the US.
For U.S. passport holders, you can find more information at the U.S. State Department. For those who are not U.S. passport holders, we encourage you to visit the website of your country's embassy in the destination country. For example:
- A Canadian passport holder traveling to South Korea, visit the website of the Canadian Embassy in South Korea
- An Indian passport holder visiting Germany, visit the website of India's Embassy in Germany
In addition to visa requirements, embassy websites often have additional information about the destination country such as travel advisories, vaccination requirements and safe traveler registration programs.
Employment Visas
The use of OPT or CPT is encouraged, when available, to gain valuable experience in your field and extend the amount of work authorization time available to you.
H-1B visa status may be available to professionals hired to work in specialty skill areas, such as tenure track faculty and research roles. The SEIS office is responsible for evaluating positions to determine sponsorship eligibility, as well as assist with the preparation and filing of H-1B visas for eligible positions.
TN status may be available for citizens of Canada and Mexico who are hired to work in specialty skill areas. SIES office can provide guidance on this option where applicable.
O-1 status requires national or international acclaim for extraordinary achievements in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. SIES office can provide guidance on this option where applicable.
Employment Based Permanent Residency
The SDBOR has established the Sponsorship of Employee Permanent Resident Applications policy to outline eligibility and process for employment based permanent residency sponsorship.
The U.S. immigration system allows college and universities to sponsor foreign nationals in permanent teaching positions through a simplified process called 'special handling'. The SEIS office is responsible to assess eligibility and provide information and guidance to eligible employees. It handles preparation and filing of the first step of the process (PERM) and can provide information and resources to employees for subsequent steps in the process.
This category is available for full-time tenure track faculty or permanent researchers who meet required criteria for outstanding researcher or professor. EB-1B petitions require the signature of the employer. The SEIS office does not have the expertise to determine eligibility or prepare EB-1B petitions, but can provide a list of trusted attorney's you can work with to assess the strength of your case and offer services to prepare and file your EB-1B petition. SDBOR does not provide financial support for the preparation or filing of EB-1B petitions.
The National Interest Waiver option allows you to pursue permanent residency without employer sponsorship if certain criteria are met.