For Middlebury Departments

This page is under development so subject to change.

Hiring or Hosting Foreign Nationals at Middlebury College

ISSS is the department that is charged with determining who needs visa support services and which specific visa support is needed and, therefore, should be the department that reaches out to individuals regarding this.

When a Middlebury department and/or faculty/staff member wants to host and/or hire a Foreign National the following process should be adhered to

Department and/or faculty/staff member selects the individual.

IMPORTANT: It is not the hiring/hosting department or faculty/staff member’s responsibility to determine any immigration-related support. If the person brings it up then the person should be referred to isss@middlebury.edu to ask any questions relating to immigration/visa sponsorship. Middlebury has a policy that we don’t participate in discriminatory hiring/selection practices, even unintentionally.
1. If it is a paid employment position at Middlebury, then the usual recruiting and hiring policies and processes must be adhered to.
  - If a faculty/academic position, the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) and Dean of Faculty offices are the best offices to start with.
  - If it is for Winter Term, the Dean of Curriculum overseas the process of hiring for Winter Term faculty/academic positions. Please visit the add link for WT pages.
  - If it is for the summer Language Schools, there is a process in place that all Language Schools must adhere to insert the link here
2. If the position is NOT paid employment
  - Departmental approval and all other Middlebury policies must be adhered to.
An official offer or invitation letter/contract is issued
ISSS is notified of the official offer or invitation
- If an academic employment position, ISSS has a system where they are notified by VPAA office of the offer
- If a non-academic position, the hiring/hosting department or faculty/staff member copies ISSS on the offer or invitation letter email
ISSS sends their visa support launch email to the individual which is designed to solicit if any visa support services is needed
ISSS determines what and when, if any, visa support services are or will be needed for the person to work at or do any independent activities at Middlebury.
ISSS provides the necessary visa support which includes but is not limited to the following:
- J-1 Exchange Visitor visa sponsorship
- H-1B visa sponsorship
- TN visa sponsorship
- Determining what and obtaining evidence of a foreign national’s status and authorization to come do their employment or purpose at Middlebury such as F-1 Student on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curricular Practical Training (CPT) benefit; J-1 Exchange Visitor on another J Sponsor’s documents; J-2 Dependent with work authorization document; etc.

If there will be an issue that is revealed during the above process that ISSS determines we cannot legally sponsor someone to work and or come do their intended purpose, ISSS informs the person, the hosting/hiring department or faculty/staff member, as well as VPAA or DoF and/or Human Resources as needed.

Below is further information for departments on the most common non-immigrant statuses for work and/or non-employment visitor activities:

J-1 Exchange Visitor Sponsorship for an international hire or visitor

Temporary/term/visiting positions are generally sponsored in the J-1 Exchange Visitor (EV) category, provided the position and the person qualify for the category. The most common J-1 EV sub-categories are Short-term Scholar (less than 6 months); Professor (up to 5 years maximum); and Research Scholar (up to 5 years maximum). After it’s confirmed a Foreign National will need to be sponsored by Middlebury in the J-1 Exchange Visitor category, then the hosting/supervising department/professor must agree to the following as is required by the J Exchange Visitor federal regulations for J program sponsors:

Monitor the individual’s progress and welfare.
Provide any assistance or advice needed to facilitate the successful completion of the program.
Help ISSS reinforce to the individual that they must have health insurance that meets/exceeds the federal requirements for J Exchange Visitors and any of their dependents for the duration of their program as listed on the DS-2019 visa document.
Ensure that the individual will check in with ISSS upon arrival to campus.
Notify ISSS when the individual leaves the College or Institute.

After an official offer to a Foreign National to come to Middlebury to to engage in periods of paid or unpaid research, teaching, or other academic activity in the interest of international educational and cultural exchange, the hosting department/professor needs to submit a Department Sponsorship Request. This form can also be found on the Forms and Resources page under the “International Faculty and Staff” section.

The Department Sponsorship Request form provides ISSS with required information from the hosting/hiring department to create the DS-2019 form.

There is a separate form for the foreign national to complete. The hosting/hiring department/professor could direct the foreign national to the DS-2019 Application for International Staff and Faculty (also found on the Forms and Resources page under the “International Faculty and Staff” section.) They should also be referred to the (insert J-1 page link).

English Language Proficiency Requirement

Prior to issuing a Form DS-2019, the program sponsor must determine that the prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor has “sufficient proficiency in the English Language, as determined by an objective measurement of English language proficiency, successfully to participate in his or her program and to function on a day-to-day basis [22 CFR 62.11(a)(2)]”.

This English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirement applies to any participant intending to enter the U.S. as an Exchange Visitor, regardless of the length or purpose of their program. The U.S. Department of State wants to ensure that all Exchange Visitors possess sufficient English proficiency to:

perform their J-1 program objectives;
navigate daily life in the United States;
fully comprehend and understand their responsibilities and rights; and
know how to request assistance, if needed.

The recommended/preferred English standards for Middlebury are described below. The levels we use are from the “ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Guidelines 2012” which is the most current version to date. Departments may use discretion in determining what level is sufficient but should be able to explain and document their requirement should we be asked to do so for the U.S. Department of State.

For Middlebury College and Institute Professors: The Exchange Visitor is required to interact with the Middlebury students and colleges as well as the Middlebury and Monterey town communities and surrounding areas depending on where they end up living. Therefore, an Advanced level of English is recommended.

ADVANCED LEVEL OF ENGLISH
Speakers at the Advanced level engage in conversation in a clearly participatory manner in order to communicate information on autobiographical topics, as well as topics of community, national, or international interest. The topics are handled concretely by means of narration and description in the major times frames of past, present, and future. These speakers can also deal with a social situation with an unexpected complication. The language of Advanced-level speakers is abundant, the oral paragraph being the measure of Advanced-level length and discourse. Advanced-level speakers have sufficient control of basic structures and generic vocabulary to be understood by native speakers of the language, including those unaccustomed to non-native speech.

For Middlebury College and Institute Research Scholars and Short-term Scholars: The Exchange visitor may or may not be required to interact with the Middlebury students and colleagues at the level a Professor would be expected to interact in. Though they would need to be able to sufficiently function in the community in which they live. Therefore, an Intermediate High Level of English is recommended depending on how much interaction in English is required for their purpose.

INTERMEDIATE HIGH LEVEL OF ENGLISH
Intermediate High speakers are able to converse with ease and confidence when dealing with the routine tasks and social situations of the Intermediate level. They are able to handle successfully uncomplicated tasks and social situations requiring an exchange of basic information related to their work, school, recreation, particular interests, and areas of competence.

Intermediate High speakers can handle a substantial number of tasks associated with the Advanced level, but they are unable to sustain performance of all of these tasks all of the time. Intermediate High speakers can narrate and describe in all major time frames using connected discourse of paragraph length, but not all the time. Typically, when Intermediate High speakers attempt to perform Advanced-level tasks, their speech exhibits one or more features of breakdown, such as the failure to carry out fully the narration or description in the appropriate major time frame, an inability to maintain paragraph-length discourse, or a reduction in breadth and appropriateness of vocabulary.

Intermediate High speakers can generally be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-natives, although interference from another language may be evident (e.g., use of code-switching, false cognates, literal translations), and a pattern of gaps in communication may occur.

As part of the Exchange Visitor application process, the below documentation must be by the requesting department to indicate how an applicant’s English language proficiency has been verified. The Department Sponsor form incorporates this into the request. The U.S. Department of State regulations outline the allowable ELP documentation. One of the following objective measurements of English language proficiency must be used for this determination:

A recognized English language test;
Signed documentation from an academic institution or English language school; or,
A documented interview conducted by the sponsoring department either in-person or by videoconferencing, or by telephone if videoconferencing is not a viable option.

Please reach out to ISSS if you have further questions about the ELP requirements at isss@middlebury.edu.

Funding Requirements

Federal regulations require verification of evidence of financial support for the scholar and any dependents who will accompany him/her in J-2 status for the entire length of their J program. The minimum level of funding is as follows:

2026 Scholar Minimum Funding Amounts:

Vermont-based scholars:

J-1: $808/week or $3500/month or $42000/year
J-2 Spouse: $277/week or $1200/month or $14,400/year
J-2 Child: $208/week or $900/month or $10,800/year

California & Washington, DC-based scholars:

J-1 Primary: $947/week or $4100/month or $49200/year
J-2 Spouse: $347/week or $1500/month or $18000/year
J-2 Child: $254/week or $1100/month or $13200/year

Sufficient financial evidence can come from multiple sources. Types of funding may include but are not limited to:

All documentation must must be in English or translated officially to English.
All documentation must be no older than 1 year from the requested start date of the J program.
All funding must be accessible and available for the time period of the requested J program.
A Middlebury contract or invitation letter that details the funding being provided for the prospective J-1 visitor. Funding can include the salary or stipend being provided as well as any estimated costs for travel, insurance, room and board or a per diem, etc.
A personal bank letter or statement in English on the financial institution’s letterhead. The money can be in any currency as ISSS can convert the currency to U.S. dollars.
- A personal bank letter or statement from a third party sponsor such as a relative or friend is acceptable.
- The third party sponsor will also need to provide a sponsor letter that is dated and signed and confirms they are willing to sponsor the person, the length of time they are willing to sponsor and for how much total they will fund the person.
An employer’s letter confirming the person will receive their salary while in they are in the U.S. and how much that salary is. It must be on the employer’s letterhead and signed by a supervisor or a human resource/payroll staff person of the employer.
A funding letter from an organization or a governmental agency providing funding or a scholarship. The funding letter m on the organization’s or agency’s letterhead and detail the amount of funding, what the funding will cover, and the length of time for the funding.

For further information and inquiries on departmental hires of international employees, please email the International Student and Scholar Services office at isss@middlebury.edu.

H-1B Sponsorship for an international hire (employment-based only)

Middlebury will generally sponsor a person in the H-1B status for tenure-track faculty or regular, on-going staff employment provided the position/wage and person qualify. Sometimes it is deemed that H-1B sponsorship is needed for visiting/term/temporary positions due to the individual circumstances of the employee. ISSS determines when that is needed.

The H-1B temporary worker visa is designated for individuals coming temporarily to the United States to work in a specialty occupation. A specialty occupation is defined as one that requires:

theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and
attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States.

The employer must provide documentation to prove that the job requires someone with special qualifications and that the intended employee meets those qualifications. Furthermore, the employer is required to pay a salary to the intended employee that meets a minimum set by the US Department of Labor (called a “prevailing wage). The individual’s paycheck also must be paid by the hiring entity.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes the final decision on whether the individual qualifies for the H-1B visa classification. The H-1B visa is employer specific. This means that a USCIS approved H-1B petition submitted by Middlebury (for a Middlebury College employee) authorizes the scholar to work only in the position specified in the petition. A scholar who has an H-1B visa approval from another employer is not automatically eligible to work at Middlebury. An H-1B worker may work for more than one employer at the same time, but each employer must file a separate H-1B visa petition and obtain approval.

Once it is determined that H-1B sponsorship is needed, ISSS will initiate the process with the person and then move the case to Middlebury’s General Counsel office to initiate with the immigration law firm we contract with for immigration-related case work. ISSS is not involved in the details of the preparation or filing of H-1B petitions but does provide guidance as needed. Hiring departments may be contacted as needed by the office of General Counsel or by the immigration law firm regarding the position and wage during the preparation of and filing of the H-1B petition. The individual is directly contacted by the law firm during this stage.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes it work may be not be able to start or continue if it requires the approval of the H-1B petition. Sometimes a person can start or continue to work with a pending H-1B petition as long as it’s timely filed. The person and department will be advised on this on a case-by-case basis.

TN Sponsorship for an international hire (employment-based only)

Middlebury would sponsor in this category if the person is either a citizen of Canada or Mexico and the position is visiting/term/temporary. This category is generally not appropriate for tenure-track faculty positions. The non-immigrant TN visa allows eligible citizens of Canada and Mexico to work in the United States as USMCA professionals in prearranged professional level business activities in certain occupations for one or more U.S. entities or foreign employers in the U.S., provided that each employer sponsors a separate TN visa. (Legal permanent residents of Canada and Mexico are not eligible for TN visas to work as USMCA professionals.) The TN visa category was original established under the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is why you may see reference to that treaty. Visit the Department of State’s TN USMCA Professionals webpage and the USCIS Treaty NAFTA/TN status webpage to learn more about TN non-immigrant status.

Short-term Visitors for academic purposes (non-employment)

If a department/faculty/staff wants to bring a foreign national(s) to Middlebury for short-term academic purposes that are non-employment (i.e. guest lecturers, presentations, performances, etc.), they must follow the procedure to determine if the Foreign National (FN) and their visit can be classified as an Independent Contractor (IC) or if they have to be classified as an employee by the Human Resources Office first. For more information on the IC process, please visit the website: go/ic. (NOTE: emails for IC related requests go to ICWorksheet@middlebury.edu.)

If the IC Worksheet is approved, please email a copy of that document to isss@middlebury.edu with a request for ISSS to reach out to the FN. We will need the following information:
1. Specific dates of the intended visit/activity at Middlebury;
2. Details of what the FN will be doing at Middlebury
3. What type of payment (Honorarium, travel expenses, etc) to be provided to the FN; and
4. Email of the FN.
If the IC Worksheet is denied, then you will need to follow the Human Resources procedures for
employment and notify ISSS once the official job offer has been made.

The hosting department does not need to reach out to ISSS if they can determine that the foreign national is coming from outside the U.S. and qualifies for the B-1/WB Visitor for Business category as explained below.

If the Human Resources Office approves the FN to be an IC and they are not in the U.S., then the FN and their visit to Middlebury needs to meet the 9-6-5 rule (see the INA § 212(q) below for information about the 9-6-5 rule for visitors) in order to be eligible for the Visitor for Business category. Specifically, B-1, if they need to obtain a visa stamp, or WB, if they are from a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program/ESTA. If the FN and the visit do not meet that rule, then another category must be determined. We ultimately want the visitor to be protected so they need to be in the right status for the intended purpose of their visit.

To learn more about visitor visas please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html#overview. Even though Canadians don’t necessarily need to obtain the physical visa stamps in their passport they are still subject to the same rules that govern the status upon entry as those who need a visa.

For citizens who are from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), they will need to register through the Electronic System of Travel Authorization database (ESTA) through U.S. Customs & Border Protection before they come and, upon entry to the U.S., they need to make sure they are admitted in the WB status. There is a link to the VWP information on the website listed above. VWP and B-1/B-2 Visitor are both Visitor statuses.

The 9-6-5 Rule for B-1 (including WB for those who come via ESTA) honorariums/reimbursements - the specific regulation states (italics are not included in original statute):

INA § 212(q)
Any alien admitted under section 101(a)(15)(B) [this is the code for the visitor categories and Visa Waiver Program falls under visitor and any Canadians/Bermudians would have to adhere to the rules of this category if admitted in B status] may accept an honorarium payment and associated incidental expenses for a usual academic activity or activities (lasting not longer than 9 days at any single institution), as defined by the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretary of Education, if such payment is offered by an institution or organization described in subsection (p)(1) and is made for services conducted for the benefit of that institution or entity and if the alien has not accepted such payment or expenses from more than 5 institutions or organizations in the previous 6-month period.

NOTE: ISSS does have a template letter that departments can utilize to provide to any international visitors that contains information about the Visitor category. The majority of international visitors seem to be able to come in the B-1 category (or B-2 if there is NO money for honorarium or reimbursement of expenses) without this letter. However, some find it helpful for clarification of the status when obtaining the visitor visa stamp and/or entering the U.S. If you want to use this letter, please contact ISSS for the template.

If the Human Resources Office approves the FN as an IC and they are in the U.S., then ISSS needs to reach out to them to determine what status the FN is in and if they can accept any payment or not and to make sure they present the appropriate documents to accept any payment. There are over 40 different non-immigrant statuses in the U.S. All of them have different rules about accepting for providing a ‘service’ such as guest lectures and so forth. In the eyes of immigration, this would generally be considered a type of ‘employment’ that would require authorization, if they are eligible.

If the Human Resources Office determines that the FN and their particular visit is considered employment, the FN would have to come or be in a status that allows Middlebury to ‘employ’ them regardless of the length of the visit. The tourist statuses (B-1/WB) does not allow for employment. In most cases, if the FN is outside of the U.S., this most likely would be J-1 Short-term Scholar, provided the person and position qualify as scholar and they meet/exceed the minimum English Language Proficiency requirement. If the FN is within the U.S., they may not be able to accept payment depending on their status and Middlebury may not be able to sponsor them in any type of category that would allow us to employ them. ISSS will be in communication with the hosting department if this is the case.

Last updated 08/19/2026 by Kas.