Good Afternoon SHARE Colleagues,
As a reminder, Berkeley International Office has notified us of their Fall deadlines. As a result, SHARE is asking that any J-1 Scholars or H-1B employees starting in January of February 2026, please submit your request to your HR Generalist or HR Partner by Friday, September 5th, 2025.We are also including a Visa timeline job aid that you can reference for ongoing visa planning.
Below are also some important reminders that were included in BIO's original email:
J-1 Reminders:
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Submit J-1 new initial requests with appointment start dates in January and February to Berkeley International Office by October 1, 2025.
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Submit J-1 Exchange Visitor extension requests to BIO for any scholars at least 30 days prior to the current DS-2019 end date
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Avoid start dates in December and on holidays and university closures, such as Thanksgiving week, the month of December, January 1st through January 4th. The earliest January start date would be January 5th, 2026 (see BIO Calendar below)
- For scholars starting in January we recommend a start date of Monday, January 5, 2026 or later. Instruction begins January 20, 2026 and this may be a suitable start date for many scholars starting in January. J-1 Scholars may arrive in the U.S. up to 30 days before their program start date.
- Consult BIO as soon as possible on the feasibility and timing of any request to change status to J-1 if scholars are currently working for UC Berkeley on F-1 OPT. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processing times can vary and BIO advisors can be consulted on the timing and options.
- Consult BIO as soon as possible on the feasibility and timing of any request to transfer a J-1 Scholar program from another institution to UC Berkeley.
H-1B Reminders:
- All H-1B requests using USCIS premium processing with start dates in January 2026 should be submitted to the Berkeley International Office by October 1, 2025.
- New or change of status H-1B requests without USCIS Premium Processing should be submitted to the Berkeley International Office at least 6 months before the anticipated start date.
- For detailed information, visit the H-1B petition timing website.
- H-1B employees who are planning to travel should inform their departments and HR should contact a BIO adviser before submitting the H-1B request.
Thank you,
Karla Sanchez