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WDRS > International Services > Visa Office > New Employees

New Employees

The Visa Office can assist with foreign professionals who have accepted offers of employment at Fermilab. 

The activities in which a foreign national engages while in the U.S. must be authorized by the visa status held by the foreign national.

If you already are in the U.S.:  You might be able to change your visa status from whatever held now, to whatever visa status needed to authorize the planned activities at Fermilab.  Sometimes, such “changes of status” (COS) are restricted.

If you are outside the U.S, or unable to Change Status:  You probably will have to apply at a U.S. Consulate in your home country or country of current residence for the appropriate visa stamp.  Please also note that many of Fermilab’s foreign visitors and employees are experiencing very lengthy waits for their visas.  See our Visa Processing and Security Clearances information for further details.

You should have received an Offer of Employment Letter from the Employment Office.  Once you accept the Offer, the Visa Office is forwarded your information and will email to you the URL of our online immigration Portal, as well as a login name and password (which you will have to change the first time you login). (It sometimes speeds matters if you cc the Visa Office on your acceptance, to ensure that we are aware of your situation.)  The online immigration portal gives you access to our online questionnaires, a list of the documents we require and explanations of what each are, and links to immigration-related sites. You can upload your documents directly to this system. It also shows you the status of our work on your case, and gives you access to a secure, internal messaging system.

Before an application or petition to Change Status can be filed, and before you can apply for a visa, Fermilab’s Visa Office usually must prepare certain paperwork for you.  The type of paperwork we must prepare depends on the kind of visa stamp for which you will apply.  We generally cannot determine what visa status is most appropriate for you until we review your information, which we cannot do until we receive a copy of your offer and acceptance.

Is your employment supposed to start soon, and are you worried about whether there is sufficient time for your visa processing?  If so, please complete our Early Notice Questionnaire.  This will let the Visa Office know about your situation and with whom in Fermilab you have been communicating, so that we can follow up about your paperwork if necessary.

Please see our Visa Processing and Security Clearances information for details about the length of time the visa application likely will take.

Please note that this website still is under construction.  More immigration information and other visa statuses will be available soon.

Questions? Comments? Contact the Visa Office!

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