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The Knowledgebase

ISSS Scholar: Import H-1B Scholars

Overview

This KB provides direction on how to import your current H-1B scholar list into the Scholar Admin.

During the initial Scholar Admin site set up or when you have multiple H-1B scholars to create profiles for, you will need to import the current H-1B scholar list for your institution. 

 

Step 1: Download and Complete Template

In order to import the H-1B scholars with the Import H-1B Scholars tool, you will need to first download the Excel Template located in Scholar Admin > Site Settings > Import Data. 

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After the template has been downloaded, complete the columns as follows in order to ensure the smooth import of your H-1B Scholars. The required fields are denoted with asterisks:

  • First Name*: List the scholar’s given name.
  • Last Name*: List the scholar’s family name.
  • User Email*: Please include the email address the scholar will have linked to their account. This could be the organizational email or secondary contact email address.
  • Gender*: Please enter the scholar’s gender, i.e. Male or Female.
  • Date of Birth*: Include the scholar’s date of birth in MM/DD/YYYY format.
  • Country of Birth*: Please indicate the scholar’s country of birth using the BirthCountryCodes FIPS 2-character country code. (In the Terra Dotta site, navigate to Settings > Lookup Tables to see the specific FIPS Country tables.)
  • Country of Citizenship*: Please indicate the scholar’s country of citizenship using the CitizenshipResidentCodes FIPS 2-character country code. (In the Terra Dotta site, navigate to Settings > Lookup Tables to see the specific FIPS Country tables.)
  • Department Job Title*: This field may contain both alpha and numeric characters.
  • H1-B Start Date*: Please indicate the scholar’s H-1B start date in MM/DD/YYYY format.
  • H1-B End Date*: Please indicate the scholar’s H-1B end date in MM/DD/YYYY format.
  • Hiring Department*: Hiring Department should already be set up via Staff Management > Groups prior to import. The department name should match to exactly what is entered on your site. 
  • Classification*: This refers to the I-129 category and will be auto-populated into appropriate fields in the scholar profile. Acceptable values include:
    • New Employment
    • Continuation of previously approved employment without change with the same employer
    • Change in previously approved employment
    • New concurrent employment
    • Change of employer
    • Amended petition
  • Premium Processing:
    • "1" = Yes
    • "0" = No
    • Leaving the cell blank will default to No.
  • Hiring Contact Name: Field can be left blank or completed with a departmental contact. If entered, the format of the contact's name should be "First Name, Last Name".  The comma needs to be placed between the two names. (i.e. Terradotta, Support). Note: the department contact will need to have the "department administrator" staff permission. 
  • USCIS Petition*: This field is what helps to determine which of your current scholars are pending or currently active on your Dashboard. Moving a scholar to “Decision” will move them to the “Active” tab in the Scholar Profile. The accepted values include:
    • Acceptance: Used to indicate an application has been mailed to USCIS.
    • Initial Review: Used once a receipt notice has been issued. We recommend including the Receipt Number in the Notes.
    • Request for Evidence: Used to indicate USCIS has issued an RFE. We suggest including brief notes in the Notes section.
    • Testing and Interview
    • Decision: Used to indicate a USCIS decision. To move the application to Active tab, a Decision status will need to be recorded. Our recommendation is to use this once approval has been issued and to record the approval information in Notes.
    • Denied: Used to indicate a USCIS denial decision.
    • Note: only a value of Decision will move the scholar into the Active tab. Denied will move the scholar into the Ineligible tab. All other values will keep the scholar record in the Pending tab.
  • Notes: Information will be retained on Request/Petition Status within Scholar Profile. Values are limited to 200 characters.
  • Tracking Number: This field refers to the USCIS I-797 Receipt/Approval Number. Information will be retained on Request/Petition Status within Scholar Profile.

The import template has been formatted in such a way to help prevent invalid submissions. The template will only allow values that will be accepted during your import for dependent columns (Gender, Country of Birth, Country of Citizenship, Classification, Premium Process, and USCIS Petition).  

 

 

Step 2: Uploading Template

After you have prepared your Excel file, click Choose File to upload your scholar list, then click the Import button.

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A chart will display indicating which rows successfully imported, and what the error was for any invalid row. If your import file has a failed row, you will see the failure in the Validation Result column. 

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Changes will need to be made to this row of the file in order to proceed to import this particular scholar’s information. You can either cancel the import and re-upload your whole file after fixing the errors, or continue importing the successful cases and remove those from your next import file. In the image above, you can see that Taylor Rowland’s information has an error - the USCIS Petition was left blank (or contained an otherwise invalid value).

 

 

Step 3: Create Scholar

By clicking the Create Scholar button, you are finalizing the scholar import. 

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After clicking the Create Scholar button, you will be directed to a new page with a message of successfully uploading the scholars and a list of scholars that were created.

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