Visa Sponsorship Policy for Scholars, Professors, and Researchers

Welcome! U.S. visa types cover the alphabet from A-Z. Learn more about the most commonly used visa types for scholars/employees sponsored by Columbia.

Whom Do We Sponsor

We provide visa sponsorship for specific academic titles. Titles are determined by the academic unit in consultation with the Dean’s office or Provost’s office.

These include:

✔︎: Officer-level collaborative research appointments.
✔︎: Officer-level instructional appointments.
✔︎: Visiting Scholars/Scientists invited by a faculty sponsor to use Columbia resources to conduct independent, non-collaborative research.
✔︎: Research technicians at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC).

Types of Visa Sponsorship for Scholars/Employees

J-1 status is for those coming to lecture, conduct research, observe or engage in research-based internships. Learn more.

H-1B status is for full-time salaried employees holding long-term instructional or research appointments, such as tenure-track faculty or researchers at the Associate level.

This must be a “specialty occupation” that requires a “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree, or its equivalent, as a minimum requirement” at a wage that meets the higher of the prevailing wage or the actual wage. Learn more.

O-1 status is for full-time salaried faculty or researchers who are recognized as being at the very top of their field in the sciences, education, business or athletics and who are coming to the United States to continue work in their field of expertise. Learn more.

E-3 status is for Australian citizens only. E-3 employment criteria and employee credentials are consistent with those required for H-1B described above. Learn more.

TN-1/TN-2 status is for Canadian and Mexican citizens only who are coming temporarily in specific professions and with specific credentials meeting the requirements of the USMCA treaty (formerly NAFTA). Learn more.

Obtaining Visa Sponsorship

When your academic title and the terms of the offer have been determined by your sponsoring academic department, the department will contact us to initiate visa sponsorship on your behalf. We cannot advise you directly until your academic department has been in touch with us first.

If you are currently at another U.S. institution, it may be possible in certain situations for you to transfer your current visa sponsorship to Columbia.