H-1B employees must be aware of rules and restrictions related to part-time employment, consulting, and taking courses.
Part-Time Employment
U of MN policy states that H-1B petitions for non-teaching positions must be an appointment of 75% or higher. Certain exceptions may be allowed, but these must be discussed with and approved by ISSS. H-1B petitions can be submitted for teaching positions for any part-time appointment amount.
Compensation for part-time employment must be expressed as an hourly wage rate in order to meet wage requirements.
When any appointment is less than 100% time, the employing department must maintain time cards in order to meet U.S. Department of Labor H-1B regulations. Employers must keep records of “hours worked each day and each week” for all part-time H-1B employees, regardless of whether or not the part-time employee is paid a fixed salary, and regardless of whether or not the employer currently keeps such hourly records for its other part-time salaried employees.
Consultation Policy
H-1B work authorization is employer-specific and job-specific. H-1B employees may be asked to consult, give lectures/speeches to other academic institutions or private employers, participate in review panels or advisory boards, etc. These activities are allowed if the employee does not receive a stipend, salary, or any other monetary or material gain for their services. The employee may only be reimbursed for transportation and incidental expenses.
An employee who wants to engage in consulting services needs a separate H-1B petition for “concurrent employment” filed on their behalf in order to accept payment from an entity other than the University of Minnesota.
Taking Classes
An individual with H-1B status can take classes as long as the study is incidental to the individual’s employment, is not their primary purpose for being in the U.S., and as long as the study does not interfere with their ability to maintain H-1B status. H-1B employees may not hold an assistantship at the University of Minnesota.
