New Sponsorship Request Walkthrough


Steps to sponsoring a new J-1 or H-1B scholar:

  1. The Department will submit a New Sponsorship Request  
    New Sponsorship Request button image

    • As part of this submission, the department will indicate the preferred visa type (check the J-1 vs H-1B information). This is determined through discussions with the incoming scholar based on their needs, immigration history, and the type of position.

      • Please note that if the scholar/employee is a current or former student, you should search by name or email, rather than inputting the information.
        search by name or email

    • This will create a scholar "card" that you can see on the Sponsorship Request tab. These cards contain basic information about the scholar. 
       

  2. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services will review the request

    • ISSS can either approve it as is, modify it and approve, request additional information, or deny the request.

  3. Once the request has been approved, the scholar's "card" will move to the Pending tab and a message will be sent to the scholar (Departments are copied on this message).
  4. From the Pending tab, Departments should select the card of the appropriate scholar.

    • The Department will then be responsible for completing all of the information on the Department tab as well as uploading any required supporting documents on the Documents tab.
      Department Tab
      Documents Tab  

    • There are J-1 and H-1B specific instructions once you enter the scholar's card on the Pending tab.

    • At the same time, scholars/employees will be responsible for completing all of the information on the Exchange Visitor/Beneficiary tab (depending on if their documents are being processed as J-1 or H-1B, respectively). Supporting documents from the scholar must be uploaded to the Documents tab.
      Exchange Visitor TabBeneficiary TabDocuments Tab

    • Please note, you must click Update/Save (depending on if it is a J-1 or H-1B, respectively) at the bottom of the screen, or the information will not be saved.

      Update ButtonSave button (H-1B)

  5. Once all of the fields have been filled out and all required documents have been uploaded by both the Department and the Scholar, the Department will click the "Submit to ISSS Admin" button. This will "lock" editing until the application has been reviewed by ISSS.

    Submit to ISSS Admin (Grey)

  6. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services will review the information and documents for the J-1 or H-1B and, if complete, will process the immigration documents. If incomplete, the card will be "unlocked" for editing and ISSS will email the appropriate person to obtain the necessary information/documents.
If you have any difficulties or questions, please email scholar@olemiss.edu for assistance.