Gross Unveils Plan for Visas

Surrounded by a dozen international students hoping to secure temporary worker visas before they graduate, Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 last night proposed a five-step plan in hopes of remedying the situation.

International seniors who have accepted job offers in the U.S. can only begin working after graduation with an H-1B visa. But Harvard’s academic calendar has left many seniors unable to file the necessary paperwork before federal deadlines.

Gross said at the dinner meeting last night that Harvard is working with representatives in Washington to try to get the opening date for visa applications “pushed for later.” Seniors are currently expected to submit applications to the government beginning April 1, but most final grades at Harvard don’t come in until the end of May, meaning that international students are beginning the process at a later date than their counterparts at other colleges.

To be eligible for the H-1B, applicants must submit a letter from their school certifying the successful completion of graduation requirements.

Gross said that seniors from abroad—numbering about 30 to 40 this year—who want to obtain an H-1B visa would be expected to inform the International Office by the beginning of March.

According to Gross, the International Office will pass the list on to the Office of the Registrar, which will run a complete grade audit and e-mail each student about their outstanding graduation requirements. Professors will also receive an e-mail explaining the student’s situation and the H-1B policy.

At this point, the Registrar will monitor the student’s grades and inform the Office of Career Services (OCS) once their requirements have been met. OCS will then send a letter of certification to the student’s employer.

Kuanysh Y. Batyrbekov ’07, who arranged the dinner with Gross, said he felt “fairly positive” about Gross’s proposal.

“I like it,” he said. “The biggest concern is that people who are taking Cores are getting screwed. But at least they are trying to do something about it.”

Students in Core classes are required to take final exams, which means OCS cannot issue certification letters for seniors enrolled in those courses until the end of the final exam period, which falls in late May.

One student asked Gross if under such circumstances, and with the small number of seniors that are affected, the policy could be suspended.

“I don’t want to do that, it opens too many doors,” Gross said. “I am not able to overrule the grading policies of the Faculty.”

In some cases, Gross said, it would be possible for grades to be submitted to the Registrar at an earlier date.

“If you have final papers, talk to the faculty and see if you can write it earlier,” he said. “However, you must leave the decision to the faculty members. We cannot violate any rules of the Faculty but we do want to get a visa to everyone that we can.”

The United States issues just 65,000 H-1B visas annually, so by the time the Registrar’s Office issued certification letters for the Class of 2006, some international seniors were left with no legal documentation to remain in the U.S. and work.