DDDH Notices

Dear Colleagues, 

I am writing to share guidelines for responding to unannounced site visits by federal immigration officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP). These visits are often part of routine administrative compliance audits and are not the same as civil immigration enforcement conducted by ICE.  

DHS, USCIS, or SEVP officers may conduct site visits for a variety of reasons including confirming information submitted in a USCIS benefit application, conducting an audit of organizations employing F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT), regular field visits to ISSS, and H-1B employee audits. For full details on the various visit types, please visit the ISSS website’s Site Visits by Immigration Officials page.

To help you and your employees navigate these situations, the following guidelines are available to employees via the Site Visits by Immigration Officials page:

• Employee Guidance for Responding to Unannounced OPT/H-1B Audits. These general guidelines are applicable to all employees who may interact with DHS, USCIS, or SEVP officers.
• Administrative Guidance for Responding to SEVP OPT Audits. These guidelines are applicable to OPT employers for the purpose of responding to SEVP OPT Audits.
• Administrative Guidance for Responding to H-1B Audits. These guidelines are applicable to H-1B employees, hiring departments, and human resources for the purpose of responding to H-1B Audits.
• Guidance for Front Desk Staff/Student Workers. This guidance is applicable to anyone working in a public-facing administrative role where they may receive inquiries related to the visit types mentioned above. 

These resources were developed collaboratively by Illinois International, ISSS, Illinois Human Resources, and campus leadership to support our international community as well as faculty, staff, supervisors, and others who may encounter immigration officials during these visits. 

I encourage you to share this guidance broadly with your faculty and staff. A sample message is provided below to assist you with distributing this information within your units.

Sincerely,

Colleen Murphy
Interim Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Global Affairs & Strategies Designate, Illinois International
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Roger & Stephany Joslin Professor of Law, College of Law

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Message for unit distribution:

I am writing to share guidelines developed by Illinois International, International Student and Scholar Services, and Illinois Human Resources for responding to unannounced site visits by federal immigration officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP). These visits are often part of routine administrative compliance audits and are not the same as civil immigration enforcement conducted by ICE. 

DHS, USCIS, or SEVP officers may conduct site visits for a variety of reasons including confirming information submitted in a USCIS benefit application, conducting an audit of organizations employing F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT), regular field visits to ISSS, and H-1B employee audits. For full details on the various visit types, please visit the ISSS website’s Site Visits by Immigration Officials page.

To help you navigate these situations, the following guidelines are available to employees via the Site Visits by Immigration Officials page:

• Employee Guidance for Responding to Unannounced OPT/H-1B Audits. These general guidelines are applicable to all employees who may interact with DHS, USCIS, or SEVP officers.
• Administrative Guidance for Responding to SEVP OPT Audits. These guidelines are applicable to OPT employers for the purpose of responding to SEVP OPT Audits.
• Administrative Guidance for Responding to H-1B Audits. These guidelines are applicable to H-1B employees, hiring departments, and human resources for the purpose of responding to H-1B Audits.
• Guidance for Front Desk Staff/Student Workers. This guidance is applicable to anyone working in a public-facing administrative role where they may receive inquiries related to the visit types mentioned above.

Please take a moment to review the information thoroughly and share with others who may benefit from having access to these resources.