Immigration and International Scholars’ Rights
The most recent contract made major gains to protect international workers’ rights. Read below for more detail on these rights and benefits and how to access them.
Legal Consultation Fund
In the most recent contract, UC management agreed to establish a $400,000 Work Authorization Support Program to provide legal consultations for international graduate student employees experiencing immigration concerns. Each employee can seek up to 2 consultations per year. To access the program, call or email:
(530) 752-7996
And be ready to provide the following information:
Confirmation that you are a UAW affiliate covered by the contract (i.e., that you are an ASE or GSR) and that you are on F-1 status;
Your UC Campus affiliation;
A summary of your inquiry;
And your preferred contact method and best language.
Immigration Leave
ASEs/GSRs at UC have access to up to three weeks of immigration leave per year, the strongest immigration leave benefit of any graduate student employees in the country. You can use immigration leave when you have to travel outside of the United States to apply for an F-1 or J-1 visa or to seek other forms of immigration relief.
Using Your Immigration Leave
To use the leave, you must give at least thirty days notice to your supervisor and receive a verification from the campus International Students and Scholars Office (or equivalent) that the travel is for a qualifying reason. Immigration leave must be taken in one week chunks.
To receive pay during an immigration leave, you can use the following leave entitlements. Otherwise, immigration leave is unpaid.
One week of Long-Term leave
All available Short-Term leave (2 days/quarter or 3 days/semester)
For GSRs only: Personal Time Off (1 day per month of appointment length, i.e. 12 days for a year-long appointment)
For more details, visit Leaves/PTO.
Rehiring Rights and Job Security
In the event that an international worker loses work authorization during an appointment, you have the right to be rehired into the position if work authorization is re-established during the term of the appointment. If the position is no longer available, you must receive an equivalent position or payment in lieu of the position.
If work authorization is not re-established until after the end of the initial appointment, you have the right to meet with UC management alongside a peer union rep to discuss options for re-employment.
If UC management becomes aware of changes to a worker’s immigration status that could impact their employment, they have an obligation to notify you and your union as soon as they can. UC management also agreed that they would not take any action against an employee because of a Social Security No-Match letter.
Protections from Immigration Enforcement
UC management is required to notify our union if it learns about an investigation into a worker by federal immigration enforcement and cannot release an employee’s immigration status without a judicial warrant.
UC management is also required to notify our union if they learn that immigration enforcement is on campus or if they learn that immigration enforcement is seeking to question, search, or detain an employee on campus.