Home / Coming to Tufts / Obtain Your Visa Certificate / International Employees Visa Document Process
Who are international employees? International employees include faculty, researchers, and certain other professionals who have been offered employment at Tufts. Any visa or immigration process for an international employee will be managed by the International Center once we have been contacted by the employee's department or hiring unit.
Depending on the type of employment you are offered, your current US immigration status (if applicable), and other factors, the International Center may recommend different types of visa options. The list below indicates the most frequent visa types used by Tufts to sponsor international employees:
The type of visa documents needed to enter the US for the purpose of employment will be different depending on which visa type is requested for you. See the section below for more details about the visa documents for each.
The sponsorship process involves several steps.
If you have any questions, please contact the International Center at internationalcenter@tufts.edu.
The visa sponsorship process timeline can vary from case to case. Much will depend on the type of visa you are being sponsored for, whether you are outside the US or already in the US in the same or different status, and the time of year as visa processing is often cyclical. In addition, certain visa petitions must be reviewed and processed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which typically leads to lengthened processing times. As an example of average processing times for J-1 Exchange Visitor and H-1B Temporary Worker visas, see below. When starting the visa sponsorship process, contact the International Center if you have any questions or concerns about the timeline.
Visa Type | Step 1: International Center Processing |
Step 2 (if needed): USCIS Processing |
Step 3 (if needed): Visa Application* |
---|---|---|---|
J-1 Visa | 3 weeks | N/A** | Varies by US consulate location and time of year |
H-1B Visa | 1 - 2 months | 8 months under standard processing; 3-4 weeks under premium processing | Varies by US consulate location and time of year |
*Canadian citizens are not required to apply for visas, but must get visa documents through the International Center and/or USCIS.
**USCIS processing is not ordinarily needed for J-1 status, except for those persons already in the US in another status; in this case, an application to USCIS to change to J-1 status may be needed.