How to Immigrate and Work in the US as a University Professor or Lecturer?

Green card

The EB-1.2 For “Outstanding Professors And Researchers”

Excellent professors and researchers are acknowledged worldwide for their “outstanding” academic achievements in a particular discipline can apply. To be eligible for an EB-1.2 visa as an ‘excellent professor or researcher,’ you must be a foreign person who meets the following criteria:

1. Worldwide acknowledged as ‘excellent’ in a particular academic field
   1. Any teaching or research experience acquired while working on an advanced degree will be accepted. However, this experience is only accepted if you have obtained the degree and the teaching responsibilities in classes where you had full responsibility or if your research was recognized as exceptional within the academic field.
   2. Proof of teaching experience or research must be in the form of a letter from a present or previous employer. It must contain the employer’s name, address, title, and detailed explanation of the foreigners’ tasks.
2. Have at least three years of professional experience in academic teaching or research.
3. Have a stable job offer from the company and wish to enter the United States for the following reasons:
   1. A tenured job in an academic department in a university or other institution of higher learning; or
   2. A comparable job in a university or higher education institution to undertake research in the field; or
   3. A comparable job to do research in the region with a private employer’s department, division, or institution, if the department, division, or institute employs at least three people full time in research activities and has demonstrated achievements in an academic subject.

Green Card petitions for excellent professors and researchers must be supported by appropriate documentation demonstrating that the professor is globally acknowledged as exceptional in the academic field stated in the petition. This proof must include at least two of the categories below:

• Evidence of receipt of significant honors or accolades for high academic accomplishment; or
• Documentation of participation in academic societies that demand extraordinary achievements from its members; or
• Published content regarding your academic work in professional periodicals published by others. This item must include the title, date, and author, as well as any appropriate translation; or
• Evidence demonstrating your engagement as a judge of the work of others in the same or a related academic discipline, either independently or on a panel; or
• Original scientific or intellectual research contributions to the academic discipline; or
• Proof of your scholarly book or article authorship (in scholarly publications with worldwide distribution) in your academic discipline.

The EB-1.1 For “Aliens With Extraordinary Ability”

Exceptional professors have acquired a degree of skill that indicates they are among the few persons who have risen to the peak of their field of endeavor. Their accomplishments must:

• Have received sustained national or international recognition
• Obtain field recognition with thorough documentation

A foreign national professor or researcher may also file an EB-1 Extraordinary Ability petition independently (in other words, they can self-petition).

To be classed as an individual with Extraordinary Ability, a professor must offer verifiable confirmation of a one-time achievement (such as a globally recognized honor such as the Nobel Prize) or at least three of the items below:

• Documentation of receipt of lesser-known national or international medals or accolades for achievement in one’s field of endeavor; or
• Documentation of your participation in associations in the subject for which categorization is sought that demand exceptional achievements of its members as determined by acknowledged national or worldwide experts in their disciplines or domains; or
• Material about yourself that has been published in professional or large trade magazines or other prominent media pertaining to your work in the field for which categorization is desired. Such proof must include the title, date, and author of the content, as well as any appropriate translation; or
• If you have judged a colleague’s work in the same or a related field of specialization for which classification is sought, or if you have been a panel member;
• Evidence of your significant original scientific, academic, creative, athletic, or commercial contributions to the subject; or
• Evidence of your scholarly article authorship in the area, in professional or significant trade periodicals, in other prominent media; or
• Evidence of your work being displayed in the field at creative exhibitions or showcases; or
• Evidence that you have served in a leadership or crucial capacity for well-known organizations or facilities; or
• Evidence showing you have demanded a high wage or other considerably higher payment for your services in comparison to others in the field.

The EB-2 For Professionals With Advanced Degrees or Persons With Exceptional Ability

The EB-2 Employment-Based Green Card category comprises the following:

1. Foreigners with advanced degrees or equivalents. A Master’s degree or higher, or at least a Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of progressive experience, is required for an advanced degree.
2. Foreigners with remarkable talent in the sciences, arts, or business. 

Individuals must present verification of three of the following to be categorized as having extraordinary talent in the sciences, arts, or business:

• A certified academic record demonstrating the alien’s possession of a degree, diploma, certificate, or equivalent award from a college, university, school, or other learning institution in the field of extraordinary aptitude;
• Letters demonstrating at least 10 years of full-time experience in the desired occupation;
• A professional license or accreditation for a particular profession or occupation;
• Evidence showing the foreigner has been paid a wage or other form of payment for services that indicate remarkable aptitude;
• Professional association membership;
• Peers, government authorities, and professional or corporate groups must recognize your achievements and significant contributions to the field.

The EB-3 For Skilled or Professional Workers

The Employment-Based Green Card program for skilled workers, professionals, and “other” workers is a category that is not commonly used by professors and researchers but should be considered.

The eligibility requirements for the EB-3 Green Card classification are less rigorous than for EB-1 and EB-2. Nevertheless, an applicant should be aware of the possibility of a significant backlog for visas in the skilled worker, professional, and other workers categories depending on the applicant’s country of birth.

The EB-3 Green Card category comprises the following:

• Aliens having at least two years of skilled labor experience;
• Professionals who have earned a baccalaureate degree; and
• Other employees with less than two years of experience, including unskilled workers capable of performing jobs for which eligible workers are unavailable in the United States
• Opportunities for skilled workers are not seasonal or temporary, and they need at least two years of experience, education, and training. Relevant post-secondary education may be used to fulfill the training requirement. The application for Labor Certification specifies the employment criteria, which decide if a job is skilled or unskilled.

Professionals must have a bachelor’s degree from the United States or a comparable foreign degree that is generally necessary for the profession. Education and experience cannot be used in place of a degree.

Other employees hold jobs that require less than two years of post-secondary education, training, or experience. Nevertheless, given the significant backlog, a petitioner may have to wait several years before receiving a visa under this category.

Benefits of Hiring Immigrant Faculty to U.S. Colleges and Universities

Most higher education firms choose foreign-born professionals for one primary reason: they want to hire the best individual for the position, irrespective of place of birth. However, here are other compelling reasons to hire foreign teachers.

Ability to hire the most qualified candidate for the job

Because the standard of education at a college or university is mainly determined by its professors, when a higher education employer finds the ideal applicant for a post, they want to know they can recruit them if they are from Kansas or Kazakhstan. Fortunately, U.S. immigration law provides short and long-term visa options for international higher education professionals.

Opening up cultural exchange opportunities

Faculty from various nations contribute unquantifiable diversity in experience, education, and views. Cultural exchange possibilities are so significant that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services developed a visa to facilitate them — the J-1 visa. While the J-1 visa is most often associated with student training, academics can also use it for short-term, non-tenure roles.

Reflecting student body changes

Many schools and universities aggressively recruit international students to establish a varied campus atmosphere, enhance learning environments with cultural views, attract the brightest students, and broaden their recruiting pool. Hiring international professors demonstrates your dedication to developing a welcoming and dynamic campus for all students.

Having well-established work visas for foreign faculty

Even in a highly heated environment where family and business immigration have been exploited as political footballs, higher education immigration paths have mostly remained unaffected. Nonprofit schools and universities can hire on the famed H-1B visa without dealing with the arduous lottery and time constraints of the H-1B quota. In addition, alternative visa and immigration options are available for individuals who can demonstrate exceptional competence in their profession.

Benefits of Immigrating to the U.S. as a College Professor

One of the advantages is its independence in terms of research. When you reach a certain level of seniority, you may pick which projects to work on and which approaches to apply.

Few other careers can compete with this amount of intellectual independence, which is unquestionably one of the benefits of being a professor. Along with freedom comes the thrill of teaching, which can be endlessly exciting with the appropriate group.

The pleasure of teaching is that it frequently involves learning. Engaging young, ambitious kids with learning materials and observing what innovative approaches they adopt when addressing them can be both fascinating and gratifying. Who gets to declare, for example, that the mold inspires the future generation of academics?

Another significant advantage is the flexibility of working hours that academics may provide, which is sometimes more significant than in other professions. For instance, if you are a parent who has to leave the office early to pick up a child from school, workarounds may frequently be discovered, and your job can be tailored to suit your family life.

Sabbaticals are another option. Many experienced professors will plan to take a few months, if not a year, off from their usual teaching obligations to do research in a new university and nation at some time in their careers. Others will go even farther and leave teaching totally to concentrate on a book, for instance, knowing that they can return to their employment once they are finished.

Another aspect of academic life that several professors find extremely fulfilling is student mentoring. They take delight in assisting their students’ career and professional growth.

Lastly, there are several options for traveling on the path to becoming a professor. You can find work worldwide and go to new areas for conferences or research tours. If you appreciate traveling to recent locations and learning about different cultures, languages, and cuisines, working as a professor will provide you with several opportunities to pursue those interests.

The Disadvantages of Immigrating to the U.S. as a College Professor

One of the most challenging aspects of becoming a college professor in the U.S. is that many highly talented academics are fighting for so few professorship positions. Even a gifted and hardworking researcher with substantial publication and teaching experience may struggle to find a permanent professorship.

Because of the low supply and high demand, academics waiting for a professorship sometimes feel obligated to take on a succession of temporary employment contracts from 6 months to a few years. This uneasiness is stressful, and it requires you to be continually on the lookout for and apply for new opportunities. It is not for everyone.

If you are fortunate to land a permanent position as a professor, you must also consider pay. Professors are not underpaid; they often make enough to live a comfortable life and raise a family. Nevertheless, somebody with a professor’s level of competence and experience could make far more money in the private sector.

The final item exacerbates our difficulty on this list: anticipate working long hours as a professor. As previously noted, hours are often flexible, yet academics are still (too) routinely expected to work both in the evenings and on weekends. In certain circumstances, people may find it impossible to use their earned vacation days because there is simply too much work, with deadlines complicating matters further. To stay at the top in your field, you will most likely have to work long hours each week and sacrifice time spent with family, friends, and hobbies.

What are the Challenges in American Classrooms?

• Foreign-born academics were often reared and schooled in their native countries with beliefs and classroom expectations that differed from ours. As a result, they may have unreasonable expectations of American pupils.
• Because of their casual nature, foreign-born educators have difficulty adjusting to American classrooms. Professors are revered in nations like India, China, and Korea. The U.S. does not use this technique, and most foreign-born faculty are disappointed by it. Students may stand up as soon as they enter a classroom, waiting for their professors to say, “Please sit down.”
• Many foreign-born academics had to face significant obstacles to obtain their jobs, so it is reasonable for them to say, “I worked harder and harder to come to the U.S. and become a professor, and you all must study hard, too.” As accurate as this is, such words and attitudes are detrimental to our pupils. Instead, professors and lecturers should be taught how to put themselves in their students’ shoes to comprehend, sympathize with, and assist them.
• While attending classes, many American students work part-time or full-time. This is also true of students in the California State University system. Many of these students are first-generation college students. Among our non-traditional students are couples with children, veterans returning to college, and students who are married and have children. Some overseas researchers find it difficult to relate to American students, who, on the whole, are earnest and diligent but just have distinct behavioral patterns influenced by their separate cultures and upbringing.

Immigrant Professors’ Salary in the U.S.

The typical full-time college professor, incorporating all teacher kinds and university categories, earned $103,803 in the 2020-21 academic year, per the American Association of University Professor’s information. During the same period, full professors in the United States earned an average of $143,823.

Assistant, associate, and full professors are the three primary ranks for college instructors. Assistant professors are full-time, introductory teachers with a terminal degree who are usually in the early stages of their tenure track. Associate professors are tenured mid-level academics, and full professors are senior-level professors.

Aside from the three conventional levels, adjunct faculty and full-time, non-tenured academics with titles like lecturer or instructor.

Aside from academics’ employment positions, the sort of university they teach at — public, private, independent, or religiously associated — and the degree of education of the students they train can all impact their annual salary.

Average Professor Salary by Institution Type, 2021-22

At $210,260, the average income for a full professor at a private doctoral institution was the highest of all total earnings. Meanwhile, the average compensation for lecturers at public two-year colleges was $51,771.

Full professors at baccalaureate colleges earn a median of $101,523 at public universities and $126,336 at private universities. This 22% difference shows how much more academics may earn in the private sector.

Are Immigrant University Professors In-Demand in the U.S.?

What about the employment levels for university and college professors’ positions? Based on the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the predicted growth rate for post-secondary instructors in the years 2020-2030 is 13%, which is 4% higher than the national average of 8%.

However, most of this job increase will be in part-time (adjunct) roles rather than full-time ones. This indicates that most professor job opportunities will have the lowest pay and employment stability.

Furthermore, job growth will vary significantly by field (i.e., what you teach). The graph below depicts the median salary and predicted growth rates for several college professorial professions (sorted alphabetically):

It is health that is the fastest-growing field for college professors. In contrast, the areas that are the slowest growing are those in the social sciences, mathematics, atmospheric and earth science, computer science, English language, and literature. These all increase at a slower-than-average rate (less than 5 percent).

The 10 Highest-Paying Fields for College Professors

Here is a list of 10 of the highest-paid fields of employment in relevance to university and college professors(form the lowest to the highest):

Conclusion

Working in the USA as a university professor and lecturer offers an incredible experience to make money, work as a respective academic, and inspire the younger generation. 

Immigrating to the U.S. as a university professor is not easy and requires many academic degrees and documents from applicants.

Regarding ways to immigrate, foreign national teachers and researchers have multiple feasible visa options, including work visas and green card visas for coming to the United States. They must examine all of them before choosing which visa to seek.