GW H-1B Sponsorship

The International Services Office is excited to partner with you to host and welcome new international faculty and scholars to GW!

Based on the feedback we received from various GW departments and their international employees, we recently redesigned the H-1B sponsorship application process to increase transparency, efficiency, and support.

In addition to transitioning to a paperless process, departments now have more access to direct communication with outside legal counsel, so they can be more informed every step of the way.

Note: TN and E visa applicants should also use the "Submit an Application" section below.

Overview
Eligibility
For CCAS Departments
Application
Payment
Processing Times
Questions?

Overview

The H-1B is a temporary (non-immigrant) visa intended for highly educated foreign professionals to work in specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. The H-1B visa sponsorship of a potential H-1B employee must be petitioned for by the host employer.

For more information about the H-1B visa category, please explore the following websites:

Eligibility

Please review the Office of the Senior Vice President and General Counsel's H-1B sponsorship policy to determine a position's eligibility for the H-1B non-immigrant visa:

GW Sponsorship Policy

If your department has a position that is eligible for H-1B sponsorship, and the position has been approved by the department chair, your department may submit an application for H-1B sponsorship of that position.

For CCAS Departments Only

Short-Term/Temporary Appointment:

CCAS departments and programs should first obtain the college's approval on any petition to sponsor foreign nationals to teach and/or conduct research at GW on a short-term basis before initiating the application for a J-1 or H1-B visa process with ISO.

A CCAS Internal Approval Routing Sheet is required to be attached with any application submitted in ISOGateway. Please visit CCAS Global's Webpage for guidance on the policy and process.

Permanent / Regular Appointment:

CCAS departments can initiate the application for an H1-B visa with ISO directly using ISOGateway on behalf of any faculty of a regular rank, whose employment with GW is on a more permanent basis.

Submit an Application

To request access to ISOGateWay and start working on a scholar application, please follow the below steps:

Log into ISOGateWay.
*If this is your first time submitting an employee application, you will be asked to request access. Please request access and wait for the ISO to approve you. Please send an email to isogwu [dot] edu for expedited access.
After your access is approved, please log back into ISOGateWay.
Click on Departmental Services on the left side, and then click the Add a New Person button near the bottom. Please add your employee applicant to our system. If the system says a record already exist for that person, please email isogwu [dot] edu to ask for the user's internal ISOGateway TEMP ID.
*If you are able to add a new person successfully, our system will send you an email containing the applicant's credentials to use for Step 5.
After the new person is added to our system, please click on Departmental Services on the left side again, and then click on the International Employee Application button on the bottom of the screen.
*Please note that you cannot use the various "My Cases" lists at the top of the screen.
Enter the applicant's University ID (this may be a TEMP ID from Step 3) and DOB when prompted.
Scroll to the bottom and click + Start a New Request. You can then proceed filling out your application eforms.
*Important Note: If you need to resume filling out your application at a later date, please use Step 4 to log in, but not Step 6. Instead of Step 6, you can scroll to the bottom of the same page and click the dated application draft (do not start a new request).

Submission Guidelines:

Electronic submissions only. Any hard copies submitted to the ISO will be shredded.
Please review documentation for completeness prior to submission to ensure rapid processing.
Each application must be submitted for the correct employment position. Applications submitted for ineligible positions will not be considered.

Next Steps

After your department submits an application for H-1B sponsorship to the ISO, you will receive a confirmation email from our team.

Outside legal counsel will contact you to initiate the next step and request follow-up information, if necessary.

Payment

Due to recent changes implemented by USCIS, paper checks and money orders are being phased out in favor of electronic payments.
To ensure timely filing and compliance, we are implementing the following internal procedure effective immediately:

New USCIS Fee Payment Procedure:

ISOGateway Submission: Upon departmental submission and internal ISO review, ISO will send the complete dossier to McCandlish Holton.
Fee Confirmation - McCandlish Holton: Once McCandlish Holton receives the complete application, McCandlish Holton will contact the department directly to confirm the final, exact USCIS fee amounts required for the filing. If you have any questions regarding the costs and timeline associated with premium processing, please contact McCandlish Holton.
Immediate Check Request: Immediately upon receiving this confirmation from McCandlish Holton, the department must request official GW Checks from the University's Accounts Payable office.

Do NOT request checks from Accounts Payable until McCandlish Holton has confirmed the final amounts. Pre-ordering checks may result in incorrect amounts and significant filing delays.

IMPORTANT:

If your unit is designated as a "Closed Unit" (I.e., the Medical School, the Milkin Institute School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, or the Law School) or if you are sponsoring a Postdoctoral position, the sponsoring school must pay all Legal Fees in addition to the Filing Fees.
If your unit is designated as an 'Open Unit' and if the sponsoring unit is responsible for paying the legal fees, please proceed with providing information on your Department's Organizational Code/Alias Number to facilitate payment for the Legal Fees. **Legal fees are subject to change.
The $100,000 H-1B payment DOES NOT APPLY to a petition filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025, that is requesting an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for a beneficiary inside the United States where the beneficiary is granted such amendment, change, or extension. Further, a beneficiary of such a petition will not be considered to be subject to the payment if they subsequently depart the United States and apply for a visa based on the approved petition and/or seek to re-enter the United States on a current H-1B visa. In addition, if the beneficiary of a petition filed at or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025 requests a change of status or amendment or extension of stay and USCIS determines that the beneficiary is ineligible for a change of status or an amendment or extension of stay (e.g., is not in a valid nonimmigrant visa status or if the beneficiary departs the United States prior to adjudication of a change of status request), the Proclamation will apply and the payment must be paid according to the instructions provided by USCIS.

Processing Times

The H-1B petition process is long and complex, involving the ISO, the academic department, outside legal counsel, the Department of Labor, and USCIS. Minimum lead time is two (2) months.

The GW host department must submit all requested materials to the ISO at least three (2) months before the requested employment start date.

Government Processing Times:

Questions?

Please email us at isogwu [dot] edu (subject: H-1B%20Inquiry) (iso[at]gwu[dot]edu).