FAQ for Visiting Fellows

Every worker in the US has the right to join a union, regardless of national origin or visa type. Your right to belong to a federal union is protected by the right to freedom of association guaranteed in the United States Constitution and the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS). Fellows have formed unions and bargained contracts at many higher education institutions, and graduate and postdoctoral employee unions have existed for almost 40 years. Tens of thousands of international postdocs and students are part of unions, including at institutions like the UC system, University of Southern California, MIT, Harvard, Columbia University, and University of Washington. None of the higher education institutions with unions have reported any complications arising from being both a non-citizen worker and a unionized employee. It is against the law for your employer to discriminate against you on the basis of your union membership or participation in legal union activities.

It’s clear, however, that international workers still face discrimination in the workplace. This is one of many reasons why international Fellows should join a union and help fight for more protections. Only with a union, independent of the NIH administration, can you be assured that if you are subject to discrimination by the administration that there is a group that will stand behind you and will help to defend you.

International Fellows, regardless of visa or immigration status, have the legal right to form, join, and support a union, as well as attend speeches, rallies, and demonstrations supporting better working conditions at their workplace. Federal law protects these rights. Generally, international fellows on J-1, F-1, or other non-citizen visas are expected to refrain from engaging in political activities, which refer to activities such as participating in partisan political campaigns, partisan political events, and running for public office. However, participating in a union is not categorized as political activity.

Note, International Fellows cannot make financial contributions to political organizations in the United States. This means that international students cannot donate to the Voluntary (VCAP) Fund, when signing up to be a Union member after we ratify our contract.

It’s clear, however, that international workers still face discrimination in the workplace. This is one of many reasons why international Fellows should join a union and help fight for more protections. Only with a union, independent of the NIH administration, can you be assured that if you are subject to discrimination by the administration that there is a group that will stand behind you and will help to defend you.

Union activity is a federally protected right for US workers, regardless of immigration status. The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS) protects actions such as organizing, joining, or supporting a labor union. These activities are not categorized as political activity. The US State Department says the following about the rights and protections of non-citizen workers, such as J-1 or H-1B holders, in the US: “When you are not working, you can attend public speeches, rallies and demonstrations supporting higher wages or better working conditions at your workplace. You have this right regardless of your immigration status. Your employer cannot take action against you for asserting your rights.”

The NIH, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Federal Labor Relations Agency (FLRA) have affirmed this position. When NIH Fellows United-UAW submitted a unionization petition to the NIH, it contained a list of fellow types that explicitly included Visiting Fellows. NIH consulted with HHS and “accepted the petition to include all individuals described.” Subsequently, the FLRA oversaw and certified the union election with all the fellow types included. It is against the law for your employer (the NIH) to retaliate against you for participating in these protected activities.

No. It is against the law for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to ask you questions about your union membership or your legal union activities or to take them into account when reviewing your visa application. In the past there was a question on the visa application form asking the applicant about his/her union activities. But this question was removed from the application form several years ago.

In nearly 40 years of graduate and postdoctoral employee unionization, there is no reported instance of any international academic worker having problems with the law or with their visa status as the result of their union activity. It is against the law for the NIH to retaliate against you for union activities. It is also highly unlikely that the NIH would charge you with violating Federal regulations as a result of your union activities. But if they did so, this would probably be found illegal. There is no known case of any international graduate or postdoctoral worker being expelled from a research institution as a result of union activities, nor would such an expulsion be legal. There is one known case at Yale University, which charged two international students with academic misconduct for their participation in strike activities. The charges were subsequently dropped.

International Fellows have many reasons to join a union. First, the union can provide a voice and advocacy for international Fellows who don’t always know how to navigate the NIH system. Second, the union can help ensure that Agency hiring practices are clear, open, and fair so that international Fellows don’t miss out on work opportunities. Third, the union can bargain for contractual improvements to numerous aspects of visa and immigration processes, since navigating visa processes is stressful, costly, and time-consuming for international Fellows.  Fourth, better and more affordable benefits, a fair and enforceable grievance procedure, higher wages, a voice in our working conditions, and respect as employees are things all Fellows and their families deserve.

Us Fellows, through our union, are committed to negotiating a strong contract that offers comprehensive, enforceable protections and benefits for international Fellows at the NIH. To achieve this, we need the support and engagement of all Fellows. Some of the key demands we aim to pursue include:

• Financial and administrative assistance for international Fellows pursuing visas and green cards
• Ensuring NIH meets all timelines and fulfills all obligations in visa processing
• Increasing and standardizing contract lengths across institutes to allow for longer visas
• Providing paid time off for immigration appointments and reasonable leave to visit family abroad
• Offering favorable sponsor views for J-1 212e waivers without requiring a formal job offer
• Expediting sponsor views for J-1 212e waivers (e.g., within 5-7 days)
• Granting Fellows the option of visas other than J-1 (e.g., H-1B, E-3, etc.)
• Establishing a tax assistance program and resources
• Increasing and standardizing relocation support across institutes

We believe these measures are essential for the well-being and success of our international coworkers and are committed to working together to make them a reality.  In doing so we will join the tens of thousands of international postdocs and students that have earned demonstrable gains and provided protections for international researchers through their unions. Such gains include:

• University of Washington won paid leave time for immigration appointments and hearings; right to opportunity for reappointment after loss of work authorization.
• MIT won a $1,200 reimbursement for visa-related costs. Their contract also includes new protections for international grads, like timelines within which the International Student’s Office must respond to inquiries.
• Harvard grads won a $100,000 annual fund to reimburse some of the costs associated with immigration and maintenance of legal working status within the United States.

UC’s recent contracts guarantee days off for visa-related appointments and guarantees remission of the Non-Resident Student Tuition fee for PhD candidates.