Middlebury

 

Inviting Foreign Nationals on Paid Visits

The College has a long-standing commitment to international education.  We frequently host international visitors who provide unique perspectives on many different topics and issues.  The following guidelines are provided to advise you of the process required to successfully invite and pay a foreign national to teach, lecture, or provide other services to Middlebury College.  Given that the U.S. government has important regulations and processes for bringing international visitors to campus, your attention to these guidelines is important.

1.  If you are thinking of inviting a foreign national to visit, please contact International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) by email at isss@middlebury.edu or by telephone at 802.443.5858.

ISSS is responsible for assisting members of the College community and international students, faculty, and scholars with immigration-related concerns. ISSS also oversees College compliance with U.S. government immigration regulations.

Be sure to begin this process as soon as you consider inviting an international visitor. In some countries it can take more than a month to secure an appointment at the U.S. Embassy to obtain a visa.

Furthermore, please send an email to Corinna Noelke in Accounting to let her know about this visitor.  Please include the following information in your email:  the visitor's name, email address and purpose of the visit.  She will contact the visitor about his/her visa status and work with them to determine their tax status.

Our tax office maintains a detailed website containing specific information for payments to US Citizens and green card holders and foreign nationals.

2.  If your visitor is currently in the U.S. but has been invited to speak at Middlebury, please check with the individual to find out his or her current visa status.  Your visitor may be required to obtain written permission from his or her sponsor to speak at Middlebury.

3.  If your visitor is not in the U.S., please try to determine if the visit to Middlebury is part of a longer visit to other institutions.  This may help in determining the appropriate visa for which to apply.

4.  Once you obtain this information, you will determine in conjunction with ISSS staff whether the person will need assistance from the College to obtain a visa. If so, ISSS will determine the appropriate visa category and any information that is needed. It may be helpful if you have some information about the person in advance.  This might include:

 

  • Full name,
  • Country of citizenship,
  • Country of legal residence (if different), and
  • Type of services the person will be performing (e.g., lecturing, teaching, consulting, engaging in research),
  • Inclusive dates of his or her visit,
  • How the person will support him/herself financially while at Middlebury (including the amount your department or program will be paying the person), and
  • Any other outside sources of support and the amounts.

 

If ISSS determines that the College will bring the visitor to the U.S. on an Exchange Visitor visa through our J-visa Program, we will ask you and the visitor to provide ISSS staff with required information.  ISSS will prepare and issue a DS2019 Form so he or she may apply for a J-1 visa. ISSS will also communicate with the visitor about his or her obligations in terms of meeting with ISSS staff once the person is on campus and providing copies of travel documents to show that the visitor entered the U.S. appropriately.

5.  Prior to the arrival of your visitor, please confirm whether they have a U.S. Social Security Number.  If he or she does not have one, it is advisable to have the visitor stop in Burlington on their way to Middlebury to apply for one.  If this is not possible, please make arrangements for them to apply for one as soon as possible.  They must show their J-1 visa and passport, as well as a contract for employment.  The Social Security office is located at 58 Pearl St. in Burlington (tel: 1-800-772-1213; 802-951-6753).  The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Have them ask for a receipt for the application, as one must be submitted in order to receive the payment they are due.

Should this procedure prove too onerous for the department and/or the visitor, an alternative would be to offer to pay travel and per diem expenses in lieu of an honorarium.