TSRI International Office
Immigration Documents & Definitions
Passport
All foreign national employees must have a valid passport or national identification
document at all times while residing in the U.S. Passports must remain valid
at least 6 months into the future. Passports can be renewed at the scholar's home
country consulate. The list of Foreign Consulates in the U.S. is located here.
Visa
Visas are issued at U.S. consulates abroad. It is affixed to a page in the passport
and it is an entry document only. It allows foreign nationals to apply for entry
at a U.S. Port of Entry, i.e. an airport, seaport, or land border crossings. Once entry
is approved, the visitor enters the U.S. in the non-immigrant status that matches
the visa classification.
There are two types of visas: immigrant and non-immigrant. The International
Office provides services to foreign nationals at TSRI on non-immigrant visas - letter
visa classifications that reflect the specific purpose for coming to the U.S
temporarily. For certain payroll titles, and with VP approval, the International
Office coordinates with contracted immigration attorneys for TSRI sponsored "green
cards" (adjustment of status to permanent resident of the U.S., or immigrant).
Status
After the port of entry inspector allows admission, a non-immigrant status is
granted and stamped on the I-94 card and the eligibility document. To maintain
legal immigration status in the U.S., the following documents must be valid at all times: the passport,
I-94 card and the visa eligibility document (not the visa stamp in your passport).
I-94 Card
Also referred to as the Departure Record, the I-94 card is usually a small white
card stapled to a passport page. It should contain an immigration stamp in red
ink in the upper right side. This is the evidence that the visitor was inspected
and legally admitted to the U.S. In this section, the port of entry inspector
hand writes the immigration status and expiration date (or "D/S" for F and J visa holders ) of the visitor's
stay in U.S. The 11 digit number on the upper left side is an important immigration
identifier.
"D/S"
Duration of Status means the alien can remain in the U.S. until the expiration
date of their eligibility document. Aliens in F status (form I-20) have 60 days grace
period to depart the U.S.; aliens in J status (form DS-2019) have 30 days grace period.
Along with the I-94 card, the eligibility document must be kept valid at all
times while in the U.S. to avoid losing legal status. The eligibility document
enables a foreign national to apply for a particular visa at a U.S. consulate
abroad and for entry into the U.S.
An alien who seeks temporary entry to the United States for a specific purpose. The alien must
have a permanent residence abroad (for most classes of admission) and qualify for the non- immigrant classification sought.
EAD
Employment Authorization Documents are issued by the Department of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration
Services to various classes of non-immigrants and pending immigrants including
F-1 OPT, J-2, pending immigrants, refugees, asylees, and those in temporary protected
status (TPS). EADs are List A document for I-9 work authorization purposes. Under no circumstances can B, WB, WT,
F-2, H-4 aliens be employed in the U.S. at TSRI.
SEVIS
Is an acronym for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal
government database that allow schools, research institutes, U.S. Immigration & Citizenship
Services, U.S. consulates abroad and U.S. ports of entry/exit to exchange information
on F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors. SEVIS tracks and monitors the arrival,
activity in U.S. and departure of F and J visa holders.
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