Permanent Residency for International Workers

UC International Services will not provide immigration assistance for applications based upon

• the Outstanding Researchers or Professors category, 
• National Interest Waivers (NIW’s), 
• marriage to a US citizen or other family based sponsorships, or 
• the visa diversity lottery.

International employees who desire to apply for these categories should use outside legal counsel to help process the petition.

In order to qualify for permanent residence as a professor, researcher, or professional, the position must be full-time and defined as permanent by UC.

A permanent position is one that does not have a definite termination point defined either by a date or the completion of a project or assignment, is not seasonal or intermittent, and is not presently intended or contemplated by the department to have some specified end date in the future. Postdoctoral fellowships and "visiting" positions of any kind are not considered permanent by the university.

Before beginning this process, both the employee and his/her supervisor should make an appointment with UC International to discuss the procedure and specific requirements.

If it is determined that the job and employee meet the criteria for one of the permanent resident categories, UC International will work with the department to ensure that the job requirements and salary are in compliance with Department of Labor standards and formulate appropriate advertising.

All permanent resident requests should be submitted through UC International's iBearcatsGlobal database.

The permanent residency process for faculty and professional positions generally entails three phases. UC International assists with all three steps, which are:

1. Labor Certification,
2. UC’s filing of an I-140 petition requesting an immigrant visa for the foreign national once the Labor Certification Application is approved, and 
   
3. The foreign national’s filing of an I-485 application to adjust status to permanent residence.