Sponsoring UGA Departments
H-1B Visa - Researchers, Faculty, and Staff
The office of Immigration Services at the University of Georgia is responsible for processing all U.S. visa sponsorships for international students, scholars, faculty, and staff.
Permanent Residency
The Immigration Services office can assist UGA Colleges and Departments with permanent residency (aka: “green card”) applications for permanently hired staff, researchers and faculty.
International Students
International students in F-1 or J-1 visa status are allowed certain work benefits for on-campus positions.
J-1 Visa - Visiting Scholars
Departments that offer invitations/employment to internationals will need to make specific requests to Immigrations Services.
J-1 Visa - Student Interns
The U.S. Department of State allows students who are enrolled in degree programs at home universities (in other countries) to be sponsored for an intern position, for up to 12 months duration, in the U.S.
External J-1 Sponsorships
Immigration Services at UGA is pleased to offer a new category of J-1 STEM research visa sponsorship to international scholars who are appointed to, or hired by, external affiliated STEM companies.
Departmental Visa Information Training
Immigration Services offers trainings and other videos at our Kaltura platform.
Current trainings hosted on Kaltura include:
- A Guide to Compass: Immigration Services’ Benefits and Sponsorship Portal for Department Users
- Global Certificate: Advertising Positions
- Global Certificate: Permanent Resident Sponsorships for International Faculty and Staff
Other videos include:
- Scholar spotlights
- Discussions without Borders sessions
Departmental Visa Information Listserv
Immigration Services has a UGA listserv specifically for information and updates appropriate to sponsoring international scholars, faculty, or staff for nonimmigrant or immigrant visas. VISAINFO-L is set to send from Immigration Services only important updates to departments; Our immediate goal is to be able to update you in a timely fashion with important information pertaining to international sponsorships, relevant government regulations and Immigration Services processing and requirements.
We strongly urge you, or the appropriate contact in your office, to subscribe to this list.
- Search for the list: VISAINFO-L
- Click on “Join or leave the list”
- Enter your email address and your full name
- Click on the button “Join the list” at the bottom of the page
International Scholar / Faculty Caseload Division
Find the immigration scholar / faculty advisor assigned to your College or School below.
Departmental Visa Sponsorship Costs
To better serve the University Colleges and Schools, Departments, and international visitors to our campus, standard practices have been developed to ensure the success of each short-term, ad-hoc, or educational non-degree program involving non-U.S. citizens and non-U.S. permanent residents hosted by the University.
Please visit our fees page for information about visa sponsorship costs.
J-1 vs H-1B Comparison
See the link below for a chart comparing the J-1 and H-1B visa types.