Overview

The University of Washington hosts hundreds of faculty and other academic personnel from around the world each year. These individuals are collectively referred to as “international scholars.”

International scholars engage in a variety of teaching and research activities but are not enrolled as students at the UW or abroad. They hold a UW appointment and generally require a temporary, non-immigrant visa to enter the U.S.

International Scholars Operations (ISO) processes requests for visa sponsorship, provides training and guidance to UW academic units, and supports international scholars in compliance with their visas.

For questions about visas, including relevant academic appointments, contact the ISO team.

Campus departments that sponsor international scholars for visas undertake several obligations. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Assigning the international scholar a UW appointment title that is appropriate for the intended activity
  • Documenting that the scholar is fully qualified to participate in the proposed activity
  • Completing visa sponsorship paperwork (UW J and UW H Visa Request Forms)
  • Advising the scholar, before and after arrival in Seattle, of the services and facilities (e.g., housing, insurance, office or lab space) available
  • Emailing acadvisa@uw.edu in advance of changes in the scholar’s start or end date, financial support, appointment title, percent of FTE, worksite location and the like

Visa-Related News and Announcements

Blackout period for ISO’s visa request tool Tue, May 30, 2023 OAP has been working to smoothly manage the transition of our Lux visa request system from UW’s legacy financial system to the worktags being implemented as part of the UW Finance Transformation (“UWFT”). This week, OAP was informed that worktag data will not be available until 07/05. As a result, it will not be possible...
February 2 visa request tool update Mon, Jan 30, 2023 On February 2, OAP will update our visa request tool.  This update will involve the following change: A third gender option, “Other”, will be added to all forms for J-1 exchange visitors and J-2 dependents. This change reflects options available in the U.S. government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and associated systems for...
November 30 visa request tool update Mon, Nov 28, 2022 On Wednesday, November 30th, OAP will update our visa request tool.  This update will involve the following changes: On the H Visa Request Form: New required uploads for published ad and offer letter for positions eligible for permanent residence sponsorship; these uploads will allow us to request prevailing wage determinations and track green card filing...